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Scars of Magic #1
Blade of the Wanderer
The chronological short stories of Esterra Stake. Tractwalker. Mercenary. Exile.
When the stars fell, the world died.
Magic claimed Esterra's arm when she was a child. For her curse, she was exiled into the weird, pockmarked world of Verpace. The magic eats away at her, twisting her bones and psyche to its own will, the curse spreading with each use.
Now an adult, she wanders the world as a tractwalker, making her living through hunting, mercenary work, and whatever opportunities arise. It is a dangerous life. Deranged cultists cry out to the red-dwarf sun, deformed beasts prowl in every shadow, creatures born from myth lurk in broken temples, and every night brings the threat of the lethal lichtvallen.
Yet some greater danger lurks on the horizon, and there are whispers in the dark. Will Esterra survive, or will she succumb to the incessant call of the magic?
-
The first volume of stories in Scars of Magic, a post apocalyptic sword-and-sorcery series overflowing with horror, mystery, magic and action.
When the stars fell, the world died.
Magic claimed Esterra's arm when she was a child. For her curse, she was exiled into the weird, pockmarked world of Verpace. The magic eats away at her, twisting her bones and psyche to its own will, the curse spreading with each use.
Now an adult, she wanders the world as a tractwalker, making her living through hunting, mercenary work, and whatever opportunities arise. It is a dangerous life. Deranged cultists cry out to the red-dwarf sun, deformed beasts prowl in every shadow, creatures born from myth lurk in broken temples, and every night brings the threat of the lethal lichtvallen.
Yet some greater danger lurks on the horizon, and there are whispers in the dark. Will Esterra survive, or will she succumb to the incessant call of the magic?
-
The first volume of stories in Scars of Magic, a post apocalyptic sword-and-sorcery series overflowing with horror, mystery, magic and action.
- GenresFantasy
282 pages, Paperback
Published February 2, 2025
1 person is currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Steven Raaymakers
5 books35 followersSteven Raaymakers is an award-winning fantasy author from New Zealand. He writes character-driven stories with dark themes and unique magic systems.
Steven reads and writes all day. In his spare time he plays Soulsborne and post-apocalyptic games, reads a ton of fiction from every genre, cooks spicy food, and spends time with his truly awesome wife.
www.stevenraaymakers.com
Steven reads and writes all day. In his spare time he plays Soulsborne and post-apocalyptic games, reads a ton of fiction from every genre, cooks spicy food, and spends time with his truly awesome wife.
www.stevenraaymakers.com
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 2, 2025
Within its forests, predators stalk. Surrounding danger lurks. Where the body eats oneself. A land of violence & magic gone awry.
An unsettling post apocalyptic sword & sorcery treat! One mercenary’s journey through darkness of the world & soul. Spellbinding Witcher vibes!
Much thanks to the author for the ARC. Excited for the sequel!
An unsettling post apocalyptic sword & sorcery treat! One mercenary’s journey through darkness of the world & soul. Spellbinding Witcher vibes!
Much thanks to the author for the ARC. Excited for the sequel!
March 3, 2025
Blade of the Wanderer is the first instalment in the dark fantasy series Scars of Magic, written by Steven Raaymakers. A collection of short stories following Esterra Stake, a tractwalker whose arm was eaten by magic when she was younger, and that gives us a big glimpse to the world of Verpace, a great proposal of sword and sorcery adventures in a world in decay.
A fast-paced proposal that helps us to understand more of the past of the main character of this series, Esterra, in a style that remembers a bit of what Sapkowski did with his Witcher short stories. We have a cast of characters that vary from story to story, such as the librarian Tarr with an enigmatic past and his goals, or the botanical Naba, living in a kingdom full of corruption.
Particularly, the downside I see in this kind of format is that there are some gaps in how Esterra is presented; we have a competent adventurer that makes use of that disadvantage that threw her into the world when younger, but I kinda feel there is space for more, which I hope is solved in future instalments.
However, if there's an aspect that shines in this collection is the worldbuilding: Verpace is a fascinating place, not only for the tracts and the amount of danger there, but also with how it is being devoured by the lytchvallen, a decay that remembers to red rot from the Souls saga. Not only that, but the small kingdoms and settlements reveal a lot of potential for future stories, and this post-apocalyptic world definitely has my attention.
Blade of the Wanderer is a great introduction to Esterra and this world; if you like fast-paced adventures, post-apocalyptic worlds and much to explore, I totally recommend you to pick this book. I wonder where will Raaymakers take Esterra in the next instalments.
A fast-paced proposal that helps us to understand more of the past of the main character of this series, Esterra, in a style that remembers a bit of what Sapkowski did with his Witcher short stories. We have a cast of characters that vary from story to story, such as the librarian Tarr with an enigmatic past and his goals, or the botanical Naba, living in a kingdom full of corruption.
Particularly, the downside I see in this kind of format is that there are some gaps in how Esterra is presented; we have a competent adventurer that makes use of that disadvantage that threw her into the world when younger, but I kinda feel there is space for more, which I hope is solved in future instalments.
However, if there's an aspect that shines in this collection is the worldbuilding: Verpace is a fascinating place, not only for the tracts and the amount of danger there, but also with how it is being devoured by the lytchvallen, a decay that remembers to red rot from the Souls saga. Not only that, but the small kingdoms and settlements reveal a lot of potential for future stories, and this post-apocalyptic world definitely has my attention.
Blade of the Wanderer is a great introduction to Esterra and this world; if you like fast-paced adventures, post-apocalyptic worlds and much to explore, I totally recommend you to pick this book. I wonder where will Raaymakers take Esterra in the next instalments.
February 4, 2025
Blade of the Wanderer is a breath of fresh air, as a fantasy reader. Unlike many fantasy stories, the action is fast-paced and they move along without too much explanation or bloat. This book is also unique as sword-and-sorcery. That subgenre usually has hulking barbarians or absolute tanks who smash through anything in their way. Esterra Stake is none of that. She is a middle-aged POC woman with a disability (her corrupted arm) and a ton of PTSD. She struggles through the world with a hardened mask disguising her emotions and trauma.
The side characters come and go, and the author has hinted that some of them will be more permanent fixtures in future stories. Tarr is a bookish man with a hidden past, while Leodin is kind of annoying but also very knowledgeable, with his own agenda. Naba is a botanist working in a very corrupt area, which is an interesting departure from the usual professions in fantasy, such as mercenary, wanderer, knight, wizard, etc.
The worldbuilding is quite strong. We learn a lot about the weird world of Verpace, the creatures and people that inhabit it, and we discover there is a lot happening under the surface. Stars vanish in the heavens, characters hint at some larger picture, and Esterra’s own powers challenge her every step of the way.
The stories in this book set up and promise a lot for the next five in the series, and I look forward to reading them.
The side characters come and go, and the author has hinted that some of them will be more permanent fixtures in future stories. Tarr is a bookish man with a hidden past, while Leodin is kind of annoying but also very knowledgeable, with his own agenda. Naba is a botanist working in a very corrupt area, which is an interesting departure from the usual professions in fantasy, such as mercenary, wanderer, knight, wizard, etc.
The worldbuilding is quite strong. We learn a lot about the weird world of Verpace, the creatures and people that inhabit it, and we discover there is a lot happening under the surface. Stars vanish in the heavens, characters hint at some larger picture, and Esterra’s own powers challenge her every step of the way.
The stories in this book set up and promise a lot for the next five in the series, and I look forward to reading them.
January 21, 2025
There’s some really interesting worldbuilding going on here, with all manner of different monsters in the various tracts of Verpace. The magical elements (or more specifically, the licht) seem to suit the world well and manage not to feel out of place at any point.
I did struggle to get into the character though, as I don’t think the format allows for the usual sort of character building I’d expect from an extended piece. Being essentially a series of short stories, we get a fresh set of events, either solo or with some new characters, each time. The short format of the individual stories means that some initial setup needs to be done for each, and I don’t think that leaves enough room for the sort of character work that we see afforded to the worldbuilding.
Many of the stories were interesting, but after a few it did start to feel a little “monster of the week”, while I think a longer piece, where we can follow one main story and develop the main character more, would work well.
I did struggle to get into the character though, as I don’t think the format allows for the usual sort of character building I’d expect from an extended piece. Being essentially a series of short stories, we get a fresh set of events, either solo or with some new characters, each time. The short format of the individual stories means that some initial setup needs to be done for each, and I don’t think that leaves enough room for the sort of character work that we see afforded to the worldbuilding.
Many of the stories were interesting, but after a few it did start to feel a little “monster of the week”, while I think a longer piece, where we can follow one main story and develop the main character more, would work well.
January 12, 2025
The first story is called “Forest of Bones.” I have several thoughts about this introductory story, which, overall, I did not like. First, it’s overwritten. Second, it feels like it was written to world-build, not to establish a character we should like. And that is the third thing: the protagonist isn’t written to be a likeable character. Fourth, it has a slow-moving plot.
I liked that Esterra had a withered arm. That was interesting. Esterra’s withered arm is revealed to be a magical, kill-everything, vorpal weapon, but using it harms her. It looks like it potentially could consume her entire body eventually. I liked that concept.
The world, made up of various craters, is kind of interesting. It’s like Ravenloft, a D&D world where different realms all co-existed (sort of) as pocket versions of various other worlds, separated by fog.
This was a weak story. As I mentioned, it was overwritten, was more invested in world-building than in making sure we liked the character, the protagonist wasn’t likeable, the plot was too thin, and the fight-scenes were laughably improbable.
This story should have focused on making sure we like the character, but she doesn’t make a friend, doesn’t tell jokes, and didn’t advance the plot one iota. She reacted to plot happening to her, but she never acted to make plot happen. But I liked that she had a withered arm.
The author should watch some videos of wolf attacks. Make those attacks look like real ones, and we’ll actually worry about the character. And for goodness sake, make the character survive because she deserved to survive, that she had skills that allowed it to happen. No one wants to read a Conan story where the main monster dies because it accidentally suicided.
“Effigies of Oblivion” is the second story. We have another pretentious “quote” to start the story. I could really do without these. I don’t think they add anything to the story.
“It was a frozen night, the kind of night for banshees to shriek out for the souls of the dead, for ghosts to scream through shattered steel skies with ill intent, and for pitiable humans to cower about their little dwindling fires in rightly humbled terror.” Now THAT is a great first sentence. Seriously, kill the pretentious little blurb, and start the story with that sentence. The author can write some great sentences. When he strings too many of them together, it starts to feel overwritten (a problem with the first story), but I honestly like this one.
Once Esterra and the scribe get to exploring, the story improves immensely. Indeed, by the end, I rather enjoyed the story. I liked this one. But the cloak that the author went to such lengths to describe wasn’t important to the story at all. The monster at the end felt dangerous and invincible. But some of the closing words were edging toward pretentious again. “This was an eternal battle, and one which Esterra would have to wage eventually.” Why? Stuff like that, I just don’t get. It felt like the author was trying to sound deep and meaningful without actually being deep or meaningful.
“Vulnerability” is the next story. The “quote” that started this story out was actually quite funny. I liked it.
I’m glad Esterra is still with Tarr (the scribe). She’s easier to read about when she has a buddy. A monster attacks her, but keeps missing her, even though she is prone. It lands massive stone-cracking hooves right next to her broken/sprained ankle, another hoof catches the hem of her trousers and rips it. Why isn’t she shoving an invincible vorpal-arm into it? Then the hoof rips her trousers again, but takes some of her ankle with it. Then the monster runs away so Esterra can wrap her wounded ankle.
Esterra finally lets Tarr look to her ankle, but gets upset when he tears her pants to get better access – pants that the monster had already torn. Ah, her ankle is just sprained. Even though “The hoof smashed down again, ripping straight through her trousers and gouging into the bone of her ankle.” Yep. An ankle that had bone gouged out of it is merely sprained. Thank the stars!
No one would look at an ankle that had a stone-smashing hoof gouge into the bone and say, “Oh, it’s a sprain.” Her skin would be ripped away to the bone, at the very least. Certainly, the bone would be broken.
I am not a fan of this story at all. Esterra literally did nothing to succeed in this story. She twisted her ankle, refused help, barely got a fire going, abandoned the fire, got trampled by a monster that killed itself trying to reach her, made a connection with a friend, abandoned the friend, and squashed the empathy that was growing within her. Other than getting the fire going, she failed at every point of this story, surviving only because Tarr cared about her survival and the monster killed itself.
“Into the Hollows” is the next story, with another pretentious “quote” at the start. She is in a cave tunnel, but she doesn’t want to light her torch so she can see licht. Then we get another paragraph about her precious knife. We get a long descriptive paragraph about her lighting the torch (at least it wasn’t a page and a half like the lighting of the fire in the previous story).
The world-building as Esterra explores a tunnel was better than what had come previously, and was more interesting, with fewer similes. I enjoyed this story. Esterra was a protagonist here, actually moving the plot forward herself instead of just reacting to plot.
“An Old Friend” is next. We get more mental world-building as Esterra thinks about places she’s heard about. I keep mentioning this because it always feels forced. There’s a scene where Esterra is walking, and the men won’t bother her because she walks like a predator. That was excellent. Bullies and the like know a victim when they see one, and, conversely, they know when to leave someone alone. Well done. I liked that a lot.
Not really a strong story. Other than burn some people to death, Esterra didn’t really do much. Her friend and the dude with the spear did most of the actual heavy lifting in this story. The side characters engineered actual change in the situation, achieved the mission, and were more likeable than Esterra.
“Tract of Chains” is next. The reader gets another pretentious “quote” again, some twaddle that attempts to sound profound without offering any kind of thought-provoking profundity at all.
Esterra was bonked on the head and knocked out, waking up to find herself chained and unable to use her invincible vorpal arm weapon. Apparently, the metal negates its power (again, the problem with superpowers in stories – sometimes you must go to forced efforts to negate the superpower lest you have no actual threat in the story). In the middle of telling us all this, the author adds, “Memories of a dark god flickered through her mind, vanishing as quickly.” Then the paragraph goes on. That’s one of the weird things about this writer. He throws in statements like this, seemingly at random, but does nothing with them. Do we really care about an ephemeral thought that doesn’t have anything to do with her situation at all?
I enjoyed this story, too. Her invincible vorpal arm weapon killed a lot of people. Some of her introspection at the end rang false to me, but it was okay, I guess. This author is really good at action sequences, but much weaker at introspection.
“The Listener” is the seventh story. I didn’t mind the “quote” on this one. It didn’t try to be deep or profound, just a statement on economics and value.
The author really overuses similes.
Okay, so the trader clubs Esterra into unconsciousness so he can kidnap the listener. Esterra finds them, so the trader threatens to kill the listener. The listener hits the trader with a rock, then a monster kills the trader while the listener makes her escape. Yet the listener is upset, thinking she killed the man. Clearly the monster killed the man. Then the monster kills the listener. Esterra runs away, and bites her tongue so she can stay focused on running away (which is kind of weird – is she really likely to be distracted while running away from certain death?).
Not a bad story, really. And it was descriptive, even if I got annoyed at it. The fight and chase at the end made up for it. I don’t really understand the trader’s motives, though. I wish he had lived so that could have come to regret his nonsense. Death was too easy of an out for him.
“A Sea of White” is the next story. Esterra crosses a salt-encrusted sea to get some nuggets of steel. Mostly just non-stop description, with some action while she fights some fish. It’s stories like this where she needs a companion, just to break up the long descriptive paragraphs. As I said, the author is good at description, it just needs breaking up into smaller segments.
“Verdant Scales” is the final story in this book. “Nothing killed a tractwalker as quickly as foot-rot.” Really? What about monsters? Ok, then we get a long introspective segment on how inured to pain Esterra is. This is where having a companion would help. The companion could complain, and they could talk this stuff out. It’d be a lot more interesting than this self-reflection on how awesome she is now. “Not that this brought any great use in the present case.” Even the author/character knows the preceding self-reflection was pointless.
Pitchfork is annoyingly inquisitive. He thinks he’s a teacher and that he’s teaching her something. I know someone like that, and he is an ass. Asking questions, then answering himself in such a way that he can sound profound. If I thought the little quotes at the start of each story was pretentious, they are nothing compared to the pretentiousness of this guy. Esterra is a survivor and doesn’t need his “teaching.” This dialogue sucks. It reads like the author is trying to give us “the moral of the story.”
This dude is mansplaining the world to this woman. This dialogue really sucks. He’s giving his backstory, as a mansplaining lesson in purpose.
Summary
Honestly, were I a writer and not a reader, I’d want this author to describe my monsters for me. He has that down pat. I really like his monster descriptions. His action sequences are thrilling. It’s the rest of the stories that drive me bonkers. His penchant for giving us paragraphs describing things that don’t need to be described at all, his inability to make his main character likeable or able to grow, the need to make Esterra stubborn to the point of stupidity, constant grinning, and his pretentious “quotes” that start the story make reading the stories more work than they need to be. He’s also not that good at writing sequences of introspection, which these stories (unfortunately) are full of. They come across as forced and/or repetitive.
These stories are good starts for a writer practicing his craft, but I don’t think they are in publishable form. He needs some rejections and some honest feedback about his writing strengths and weaknesses. I think he could become a notable writer, but these stories aren’t it. And he needs an editor. The number of forgotten words, sentence fragments, incorrect verb tenses, unidentified speakers, and misspelled words are numerous. The author even forgets to capitalize Esterra’s last name at least once, and he misspells Leodin's name once.
I liked that Esterra had a withered arm. That was interesting. Esterra’s withered arm is revealed to be a magical, kill-everything, vorpal weapon, but using it harms her. It looks like it potentially could consume her entire body eventually. I liked that concept.
The world, made up of various craters, is kind of interesting. It’s like Ravenloft, a D&D world where different realms all co-existed (sort of) as pocket versions of various other worlds, separated by fog.
This was a weak story. As I mentioned, it was overwritten, was more invested in world-building than in making sure we liked the character, the protagonist wasn’t likeable, the plot was too thin, and the fight-scenes were laughably improbable.
This story should have focused on making sure we like the character, but she doesn’t make a friend, doesn’t tell jokes, and didn’t advance the plot one iota. She reacted to plot happening to her, but she never acted to make plot happen. But I liked that she had a withered arm.
The author should watch some videos of wolf attacks. Make those attacks look like real ones, and we’ll actually worry about the character. And for goodness sake, make the character survive because she deserved to survive, that she had skills that allowed it to happen. No one wants to read a Conan story where the main monster dies because it accidentally suicided.
“Effigies of Oblivion” is the second story. We have another pretentious “quote” to start the story. I could really do without these. I don’t think they add anything to the story.
“It was a frozen night, the kind of night for banshees to shriek out for the souls of the dead, for ghosts to scream through shattered steel skies with ill intent, and for pitiable humans to cower about their little dwindling fires in rightly humbled terror.” Now THAT is a great first sentence. Seriously, kill the pretentious little blurb, and start the story with that sentence. The author can write some great sentences. When he strings too many of them together, it starts to feel overwritten (a problem with the first story), but I honestly like this one.
Once Esterra and the scribe get to exploring, the story improves immensely. Indeed, by the end, I rather enjoyed the story. I liked this one. But the cloak that the author went to such lengths to describe wasn’t important to the story at all. The monster at the end felt dangerous and invincible. But some of the closing words were edging toward pretentious again. “This was an eternal battle, and one which Esterra would have to wage eventually.” Why? Stuff like that, I just don’t get. It felt like the author was trying to sound deep and meaningful without actually being deep or meaningful.
“Vulnerability” is the next story. The “quote” that started this story out was actually quite funny. I liked it.
I’m glad Esterra is still with Tarr (the scribe). She’s easier to read about when she has a buddy. A monster attacks her, but keeps missing her, even though she is prone. It lands massive stone-cracking hooves right next to her broken/sprained ankle, another hoof catches the hem of her trousers and rips it. Why isn’t she shoving an invincible vorpal-arm into it? Then the hoof rips her trousers again, but takes some of her ankle with it. Then the monster runs away so Esterra can wrap her wounded ankle.
Esterra finally lets Tarr look to her ankle, but gets upset when he tears her pants to get better access – pants that the monster had already torn. Ah, her ankle is just sprained. Even though “The hoof smashed down again, ripping straight through her trousers and gouging into the bone of her ankle.” Yep. An ankle that had bone gouged out of it is merely sprained. Thank the stars!
No one would look at an ankle that had a stone-smashing hoof gouge into the bone and say, “Oh, it’s a sprain.” Her skin would be ripped away to the bone, at the very least. Certainly, the bone would be broken.
I am not a fan of this story at all. Esterra literally did nothing to succeed in this story. She twisted her ankle, refused help, barely got a fire going, abandoned the fire, got trampled by a monster that killed itself trying to reach her, made a connection with a friend, abandoned the friend, and squashed the empathy that was growing within her. Other than getting the fire going, she failed at every point of this story, surviving only because Tarr cared about her survival and the monster killed itself.
“Into the Hollows” is the next story, with another pretentious “quote” at the start. She is in a cave tunnel, but she doesn’t want to light her torch so she can see licht. Then we get another paragraph about her precious knife. We get a long descriptive paragraph about her lighting the torch (at least it wasn’t a page and a half like the lighting of the fire in the previous story).
The world-building as Esterra explores a tunnel was better than what had come previously, and was more interesting, with fewer similes. I enjoyed this story. Esterra was a protagonist here, actually moving the plot forward herself instead of just reacting to plot.
“An Old Friend” is next. We get more mental world-building as Esterra thinks about places she’s heard about. I keep mentioning this because it always feels forced. There’s a scene where Esterra is walking, and the men won’t bother her because she walks like a predator. That was excellent. Bullies and the like know a victim when they see one, and, conversely, they know when to leave someone alone. Well done. I liked that a lot.
Not really a strong story. Other than burn some people to death, Esterra didn’t really do much. Her friend and the dude with the spear did most of the actual heavy lifting in this story. The side characters engineered actual change in the situation, achieved the mission, and were more likeable than Esterra.
“Tract of Chains” is next. The reader gets another pretentious “quote” again, some twaddle that attempts to sound profound without offering any kind of thought-provoking profundity at all.
Esterra was bonked on the head and knocked out, waking up to find herself chained and unable to use her invincible vorpal arm weapon. Apparently, the metal negates its power (again, the problem with superpowers in stories – sometimes you must go to forced efforts to negate the superpower lest you have no actual threat in the story). In the middle of telling us all this, the author adds, “Memories of a dark god flickered through her mind, vanishing as quickly.” Then the paragraph goes on. That’s one of the weird things about this writer. He throws in statements like this, seemingly at random, but does nothing with them. Do we really care about an ephemeral thought that doesn’t have anything to do with her situation at all?
I enjoyed this story, too. Her invincible vorpal arm weapon killed a lot of people. Some of her introspection at the end rang false to me, but it was okay, I guess. This author is really good at action sequences, but much weaker at introspection.
“The Listener” is the seventh story. I didn’t mind the “quote” on this one. It didn’t try to be deep or profound, just a statement on economics and value.
The author really overuses similes.
Okay, so the trader clubs Esterra into unconsciousness so he can kidnap the listener. Esterra finds them, so the trader threatens to kill the listener. The listener hits the trader with a rock, then a monster kills the trader while the listener makes her escape. Yet the listener is upset, thinking she killed the man. Clearly the monster killed the man. Then the monster kills the listener. Esterra runs away, and bites her tongue so she can stay focused on running away (which is kind of weird – is she really likely to be distracted while running away from certain death?).
Not a bad story, really. And it was descriptive, even if I got annoyed at it. The fight and chase at the end made up for it. I don’t really understand the trader’s motives, though. I wish he had lived so that could have come to regret his nonsense. Death was too easy of an out for him.
“A Sea of White” is the next story. Esterra crosses a salt-encrusted sea to get some nuggets of steel. Mostly just non-stop description, with some action while she fights some fish. It’s stories like this where she needs a companion, just to break up the long descriptive paragraphs. As I said, the author is good at description, it just needs breaking up into smaller segments.
“Verdant Scales” is the final story in this book. “Nothing killed a tractwalker as quickly as foot-rot.” Really? What about monsters? Ok, then we get a long introspective segment on how inured to pain Esterra is. This is where having a companion would help. The companion could complain, and they could talk this stuff out. It’d be a lot more interesting than this self-reflection on how awesome she is now. “Not that this brought any great use in the present case.” Even the author/character knows the preceding self-reflection was pointless.
Pitchfork is annoyingly inquisitive. He thinks he’s a teacher and that he’s teaching her something. I know someone like that, and he is an ass. Asking questions, then answering himself in such a way that he can sound profound. If I thought the little quotes at the start of each story was pretentious, they are nothing compared to the pretentiousness of this guy. Esterra is a survivor and doesn’t need his “teaching.” This dialogue sucks. It reads like the author is trying to give us “the moral of the story.”
This dude is mansplaining the world to this woman. This dialogue really sucks. He’s giving his backstory, as a mansplaining lesson in purpose.
Summary
Honestly, were I a writer and not a reader, I’d want this author to describe my monsters for me. He has that down pat. I really like his monster descriptions. His action sequences are thrilling. It’s the rest of the stories that drive me bonkers. His penchant for giving us paragraphs describing things that don’t need to be described at all, his inability to make his main character likeable or able to grow, the need to make Esterra stubborn to the point of stupidity, constant grinning, and his pretentious “quotes” that start the story make reading the stories more work than they need to be. He’s also not that good at writing sequences of introspection, which these stories (unfortunately) are full of. They come across as forced and/or repetitive.
These stories are good starts for a writer practicing his craft, but I don’t think they are in publishable form. He needs some rejections and some honest feedback about his writing strengths and weaknesses. I think he could become a notable writer, but these stories aren’t it. And he needs an editor. The number of forgotten words, sentence fragments, incorrect verb tenses, unidentified speakers, and misspelled words are numerous. The author even forgets to capitalize Esterra’s last name at least once, and he misspells Leodin's name once.
July 31, 2025
Raaymakers’ world building was my favourite thing about his book - it was so beautifully crafted, unique and vivid that it had me captivated the whole time reading it. His ability to paint such lucid and ethereal landscapes with text alone really highlights his talent as an author. To call it “magical” would be an immense understatement.
Blade Of The Wanderer definitely has something for everyone - I found myself in awe of the scenery one moment and the next I’m on the edge of my seat speeding to the next page as fast as I could read like a horror thriller!
I usually struggle with getting into the pacing of books, but with this book the pacing was perfect, the word selection was just right and I was instantly hooked! Highly recommend!
Esterra’s profuse swearing made her a woman after my own heart haha! It was so refreshing to have the main character not be the bulk-standard charming hero; it really helped to draw you in more to try focus on their history, what led them to where they are and their motives. I really loved seeing insights and sides of Esterra gradually reveal themselves through interactions with the other unique characters; Tarr especially :)
I tactically finished this book just in time for the next one! Looking forward to it and to the other wonderful things Steven will bring in the future!
Blade Of The Wanderer definitely has something for everyone - I found myself in awe of the scenery one moment and the next I’m on the edge of my seat speeding to the next page as fast as I could read like a horror thriller!
I usually struggle with getting into the pacing of books, but with this book the pacing was perfect, the word selection was just right and I was instantly hooked! Highly recommend!
Esterra’s profuse swearing made her a woman after my own heart haha! It was so refreshing to have the main character not be the bulk-standard charming hero; it really helped to draw you in more to try focus on their history, what led them to where they are and their motives. I really loved seeing insights and sides of Esterra gradually reveal themselves through interactions with the other unique characters; Tarr especially :)
I tactically finished this book just in time for the next one! Looking forward to it and to the other wonderful things Steven will bring in the future!
January 27, 2025
The world of Verpace is an interesting story about walking through a scarred landscape and finding out that it’s full of dangers of the wolves that were once human, the concept of the world as a short story is now even more intriguing and fascinating to read about, the writing style in clear concise, with detailed explanations of the world building it’s based upon.
Steven Raaymaker has written a unique short story that has many interesting elements that could be explored here and brought together into a full length novel or a series of shorts, either of which are now something which I intend to read, I was somewhat surprised by the book, and now I can’t wait for more.
This very interesting book is worth reading and creates something special, yes it’s a great shame at first glance, however, all the details will hopefully follow in further development and new books that follow.
It was an amazing piece of writing and highly detailed, which deserves more attention and recognition, besides an appreciation for what it will lead to?
Thanks Steven, I absolutely fell for this one and can’t wait to see what follows.
Steven Raaymaker has written a unique short story that has many interesting elements that could be explored here and brought together into a full length novel or a series of shorts, either of which are now something which I intend to read, I was somewhat surprised by the book, and now I can’t wait for more.
This very interesting book is worth reading and creates something special, yes it’s a great shame at first glance, however, all the details will hopefully follow in further development and new books that follow.
It was an amazing piece of writing and highly detailed, which deserves more attention and recognition, besides an appreciation for what it will lead to?
Thanks Steven, I absolutely fell for this one and can’t wait to see what follows.
February 15, 2025
If you love dark, gritty fantasy with a touch of horror, Blade of the Wanderer is a must-read! 🌑 Esterra Stake, a cursed warrior exiled into the eerie world of Verpace, is as fierce as she is tragic. Magic has twisted her body and mind, but she refuses to back down. Instead, she takes on the life of a tractwalker—a mercenary navigating a land filled with cultists, deadly creatures, and ancient horrors. 🐉🔥
The world-building? Absolutely stunning. Verpace feels hauntingly real, with its broken temples, lurking beasts, and the ever-present threat of lichtvallen—a danger that creeps in the night. Every turn of the page throws you deeper into this twisted, post-apocalyptic realm, where survival isn’t just a choice—it’s a battle. 💀
What sets this book apart is its mix of sword and sorcery, mystery, and psychological depth. Esterra isn’t just fighting monsters—she’s fighting the magic within her, a force that threatens to consume her soul. Will she conquer it, or will it consume her? 👀
Fast-paced, action-packed, and dripping with dark fantasy vibes, Blade of the Wanderer is perfect for fans of The Witcher and Dark Souls. Highly recommended! ⚔️✨
The world-building? Absolutely stunning. Verpace feels hauntingly real, with its broken temples, lurking beasts, and the ever-present threat of lichtvallen—a danger that creeps in the night. Every turn of the page throws you deeper into this twisted, post-apocalyptic realm, where survival isn’t just a choice—it’s a battle. 💀
What sets this book apart is its mix of sword and sorcery, mystery, and psychological depth. Esterra isn’t just fighting monsters—she’s fighting the magic within her, a force that threatens to consume her soul. Will she conquer it, or will it consume her? 👀
Fast-paced, action-packed, and dripping with dark fantasy vibes, Blade of the Wanderer is perfect for fans of The Witcher and Dark Souls. Highly recommended! ⚔️✨
April 1, 2025
The world building in this is spectacular, you’re instantly thrown into a forest of decay and doom along with Esterra meeting an array of creatures and characters that are all fascinating and well written. There’s so much to love from the atmospheric and breathtaking landscape that elicits a sense of wonder, to the fierce and imposing Esterra Stake who never failed to amaze me through every quest, to the immersive and magnificent descriptions and narrative, and most importantly the exhilarating adventure in a world on the edge of chaos that awaits us with every turn of a page! There’s so much potential for this fantasy world and cast that I’d love to see more of!
Blade of the Wanderer was an addictive and thrilling ride from start to finish and the world of Verpace is brimming with mysteries, magic, and peril- one I’m excited to explore more of within future installments in the Scars of Magic series 🗡️✨
Blade of the Wanderer was an addictive and thrilling ride from start to finish and the world of Verpace is brimming with mysteries, magic, and peril- one I’m excited to explore more of within future installments in the Scars of Magic series 🗡️✨
May 21, 2025
I had a lot of fun reading this. I really enjoyed that you thrown right into the mix of the action, there was’nt any lengthy lore and history lessons. Not to say that it didn’t give you any background, you were given information as you needed it, just feeding you enough to enjoy the story and to keep you interested. I also really enjoyed that it was a series of short stories, good solid bite size chunks. The action was also nice a brutal too. I’m looking forward to digging deep into this world.
January 16, 2025
A grim, dark fantasy which asks a lot of questions, introduces interesting characters, and twists more than a few tropes to catch us readers off-guard. The author is a deft hand with action sequences. He also has some great lines:
"It was a frozen night, the kind of night for banshees to shriek out for the souls of the dead, for ghosts to scream through shattered steel skies with ill intent, and for pitiable humans to cower about their little dwindling fires in rightly humbled terror."
"The flames danced about each other as if possessed."
"The traders fought forever, clawing and stabbing and chewing through intangible concepts with enemies who fought with the same skills and the same mindset, fever against furious fever, their words and plans more vicious than any blade, cutting with a terrible precision and purpose as their cunning spirits warred."
There are also little in-world snippets before each story. These epigraphs color the world with glimpses into various topics, from economics to old philosophical texts to a Dark Souls reference.
Here is a breakdown of my thoughts for each story.
* Forest of Bones *
We meet a wanderer, the main character, called Esterra Stake. This is a brutal introduction to the world in Scars of Magic. The story is a little heavy on exposition, but it moves along quickly enough. Esterra uses the magic within her arm to fight her way clear of the monsters hunting her, and we learn that Esterra is maybe not quite as tough as her cynical outer shell might suggest.
* Effigies of Oblivion *
We meet Tarr in a tract which has an entire ancient city buried under the snow. He’s a bit of an enigmatic character who used to belong to a ‘college’. He is instantly likeable, and makes Esterra a little more human and likeable.
* Vulnerability *
Esterra is wounded while traveling with Tarr and she is... wait for it... vulnerable. But this story also tells us about her emotional vulnerability. We see her open up a little, but she quickly squashes it down out of fear of appearing weak. She clearly has some emotional issues.
* Into the Hollows *
Here we meet a very weird creature called a mishtaan. It is a sapient, magical thing with powers far beyond Esterra’s. They get into a brutal fight, and she escapes by the skin of her teeth.
* An Old Friend *
Esterra meets with an old friend, and we see a much gentler, human side to her personality. Her friend is a botanist, but she is in a perilous situation. The villain is a self-proclaimed queen and quite evil in her own ways. Without any spoilers, Esterra helps her as best she can and rescues her from her predicament.
* Tract of Chains *
Esterra is captured by a cult, who have metal chains which negate Esterra’s magic. This is an interesting story, because the great hero (anti-hero?) is absolutely at the mercy of her enemies. Her eventual escape and slaughter of her enemies is heavily grimdark.
* The Listener *
This story is a little heavy on the worldbuilding, but ends with a great action sequence.
* A Sea of White *
Esterra fights her way through another strange land, walking away with little to show for it. Without spoiling anything, she suffers a lot through this one, and we find out a bit more how she thinks and the struggles she overcame for the past few years.
* Verdant Scales *
Esterra finally tracks down the mysterious stranger whom she has been tracking for some time. He turns out to be a mansplaining know-it-all who is quite annoying, but he clearly has information she can use. He forces her to work with him to destroy the monsters of the tract.
* Extras *
This book contains a lot of wonderful artwork, maps, a page covered in runes which I am slowly translating in my spare time, and a weird six-pointed compass, which makes sense in-world. I definitely need to pickup the paperback.
"It was a frozen night, the kind of night for banshees to shriek out for the souls of the dead, for ghosts to scream through shattered steel skies with ill intent, and for pitiable humans to cower about their little dwindling fires in rightly humbled terror."
"The flames danced about each other as if possessed."
"The traders fought forever, clawing and stabbing and chewing through intangible concepts with enemies who fought with the same skills and the same mindset, fever against furious fever, their words and plans more vicious than any blade, cutting with a terrible precision and purpose as their cunning spirits warred."
There are also little in-world snippets before each story. These epigraphs color the world with glimpses into various topics, from economics to old philosophical texts to a Dark Souls reference.
Here is a breakdown of my thoughts for each story.
* Forest of Bones *
We meet a wanderer, the main character, called Esterra Stake. This is a brutal introduction to the world in Scars of Magic. The story is a little heavy on exposition, but it moves along quickly enough. Esterra uses the magic within her arm to fight her way clear of the monsters hunting her, and we learn that Esterra is maybe not quite as tough as her cynical outer shell might suggest.
* Effigies of Oblivion *
We meet Tarr in a tract which has an entire ancient city buried under the snow. He’s a bit of an enigmatic character who used to belong to a ‘college’. He is instantly likeable, and makes Esterra a little more human and likeable.
* Vulnerability *
Esterra is wounded while traveling with Tarr and she is... wait for it... vulnerable. But this story also tells us about her emotional vulnerability. We see her open up a little, but she quickly squashes it down out of fear of appearing weak. She clearly has some emotional issues.
* Into the Hollows *
Here we meet a very weird creature called a mishtaan. It is a sapient, magical thing with powers far beyond Esterra’s. They get into a brutal fight, and she escapes by the skin of her teeth.
* An Old Friend *
Esterra meets with an old friend, and we see a much gentler, human side to her personality. Her friend is a botanist, but she is in a perilous situation. The villain is a self-proclaimed queen and quite evil in her own ways. Without any spoilers, Esterra helps her as best she can and rescues her from her predicament.
* Tract of Chains *
Esterra is captured by a cult, who have metal chains which negate Esterra’s magic. This is an interesting story, because the great hero (anti-hero?) is absolutely at the mercy of her enemies. Her eventual escape and slaughter of her enemies is heavily grimdark.
* The Listener *
This story is a little heavy on the worldbuilding, but ends with a great action sequence.
* A Sea of White *
Esterra fights her way through another strange land, walking away with little to show for it. Without spoiling anything, she suffers a lot through this one, and we find out a bit more how she thinks and the struggles she overcame for the past few years.
* Verdant Scales *
Esterra finally tracks down the mysterious stranger whom she has been tracking for some time. He turns out to be a mansplaining know-it-all who is quite annoying, but he clearly has information she can use. He forces her to work with him to destroy the monsters of the tract.
* Extras *
This book contains a lot of wonderful artwork, maps, a page covered in runes which I am slowly translating in my spare time, and a weird six-pointed compass, which makes sense in-world. I definitely need to pickup the paperback.
January 27, 2025
A remarkably fresh, slightly weird, and intriguing set of short stories, the first in a larger series.
Blade of the Wanderer introduces us to Esterra Stake, a middle-aged POC woman with a disability. Her arm is cursed by the licht, a strange magic which corrupts as much as it grants power. Esterra is a cynical, grim anti-heroine who is not particularly nice or endearing, at first. But she has a dry humor and genuine feelings beneath the harsh exterior, shown particularly in the story “Vulnerability”, where she must rely on Tarr to help her survive, and “An Old Friend”, where she breaks down in tears at Naba’s kindness to her.
The world-building takes a front seat with this first book of stories, something I expect to take more of a background role in the future books. The world is weird. Like, really weird. It does not resemble earth or any other planet we are used to in fantasy. Verpace is made up of tracts, which are essentially giant craters, and each tract has its own ecosystem, animals, plants, weather, and people. It is difficult to describe it, and I think the worldbuilding was a necessary part of the stories.
Now, the highlight of these stories is the action. It is fast, violent, and always high-stakes. Esterra does get wounds, and they affect her travels and future fights. She also bears a lot of trauma, which she is working through.
This book sets up a lot of things, such as the disappearing stars, the world, the various main characters (Esterra, Naba, Tarr, Leodin), and the magic which pervades everything. While there is not much character development in these nine stories, there is a sense of them building up to something much bigger, and we’ll have to wait for book 2 to find out what is going on. I must say I am very curious.
Overall, this is a weird, fresh, trope-twisting fantasy book which promises a great series ahead.
Blade of the Wanderer introduces us to Esterra Stake, a middle-aged POC woman with a disability. Her arm is cursed by the licht, a strange magic which corrupts as much as it grants power. Esterra is a cynical, grim anti-heroine who is not particularly nice or endearing, at first. But she has a dry humor and genuine feelings beneath the harsh exterior, shown particularly in the story “Vulnerability”, where she must rely on Tarr to help her survive, and “An Old Friend”, where she breaks down in tears at Naba’s kindness to her.
The world-building takes a front seat with this first book of stories, something I expect to take more of a background role in the future books. The world is weird. Like, really weird. It does not resemble earth or any other planet we are used to in fantasy. Verpace is made up of tracts, which are essentially giant craters, and each tract has its own ecosystem, animals, plants, weather, and people. It is difficult to describe it, and I think the worldbuilding was a necessary part of the stories.
Now, the highlight of these stories is the action. It is fast, violent, and always high-stakes. Esterra does get wounds, and they affect her travels and future fights. She also bears a lot of trauma, which she is working through.
This book sets up a lot of things, such as the disappearing stars, the world, the various main characters (Esterra, Naba, Tarr, Leodin), and the magic which pervades everything. While there is not much character development in these nine stories, there is a sense of them building up to something much bigger, and we’ll have to wait for book 2 to find out what is going on. I must say I am very curious.
Overall, this is a weird, fresh, trope-twisting fantasy book which promises a great series ahead.
January 3, 2025
Book I: Blade of the Wanderer
What a world! And such a great POC main character. These stories are seeped in atmosphere, action, horror and great dialogue.
Esterra kicks ass, but she comes with a wild mix of flaws, physical disability, personal attitude, and moral grayness. Complex is the word to describe her, a complex, complicated woman. Middle-aged with serious trust issues, she carves her way through the world of Verpace with her magic arm and knife like a butcher, yet there are hints below that rough exterior of a vulnerable, softer person.
Side characters come and go, very much in the style of R E Howard's "Conan" stories, but a few of them seem to have a little more importance to the overall story. Tarr sticks around for two consecutive stories, and the Leodin character was built up in previous stories, and has some mysterious goals.
The monster in the story "Into the Hollows" is truly creepy. A weird, new beast called a mishtaan, it seems to be almost Lovecraftian in nature, but weakened by the new state of the world. Like everything in Scars of Magic, there is an antiquity and nostalgia to the thing. The world almost died in the First Lichtvallen, I think, and everything since is just surviving.
Book 2 should be good.
~ Reviewed ARC ~
What a world! And such a great POC main character. These stories are seeped in atmosphere, action, horror and great dialogue.
Esterra kicks ass, but she comes with a wild mix of flaws, physical disability, personal attitude, and moral grayness. Complex is the word to describe her, a complex, complicated woman. Middle-aged with serious trust issues, she carves her way through the world of Verpace with her magic arm and knife like a butcher, yet there are hints below that rough exterior of a vulnerable, softer person.
Side characters come and go, very much in the style of R E Howard's "Conan" stories, but a few of them seem to have a little more importance to the overall story. Tarr sticks around for two consecutive stories, and the Leodin character was built up in previous stories, and has some mysterious goals.
The monster in the story "Into the Hollows" is truly creepy. A weird, new beast called a mishtaan, it seems to be almost Lovecraftian in nature, but weakened by the new state of the world. Like everything in Scars of Magic, there is an antiquity and nostalgia to the thing. The world almost died in the First Lichtvallen, I think, and everything since is just surviving.
Book 2 should be good.
~ Reviewed ARC ~
January 5, 2025
ARC review.
Trope-twisting dark fantasy!
What would you get if you took a gallon of Robert E Howard, a smidge of Lovecraft, a pinch of Stephen King, a dash of G R R Martin, a spoonful of Mark Lawrence, and a full bucket of Vance?
Scars of Magic.
The stories in Blade of the Wanderer remind me of Vance's Cugel stories in some ways, and RE Howard's Conan stories in others. The overarching themes are a little Lovecraftian but without being derivative. Overall, it takes inspiration from all these sources and more, while firmly establishing its own identity.
Esterra is an incredibly strong female character. She isn't a 2D super-heroine without flaws and weaknesses. She is fleshed out, human and pragmatic, prone to bouts of impatience and annoyed at the academnic pursuits of a certain other character. She is deeply complex.
The stories pass the Bechdel test and more. The cast is majority female, with varied personalities and attitudes to life.
The book is very fast-paced. The action rarely stops, and the combat is fluid and violently alive.
I look forward to Volume 2.
Trope-twisting dark fantasy!
What would you get if you took a gallon of Robert E Howard, a smidge of Lovecraft, a pinch of Stephen King, a dash of G R R Martin, a spoonful of Mark Lawrence, and a full bucket of Vance?
Scars of Magic.
The stories in Blade of the Wanderer remind me of Vance's Cugel stories in some ways, and RE Howard's Conan stories in others. The overarching themes are a little Lovecraftian but without being derivative. Overall, it takes inspiration from all these sources and more, while firmly establishing its own identity.
Esterra is an incredibly strong female character. She isn't a 2D super-heroine without flaws and weaknesses. She is fleshed out, human and pragmatic, prone to bouts of impatience and annoyed at the academnic pursuits of a certain other character. She is deeply complex.
The stories pass the Bechdel test and more. The cast is majority female, with varied personalities and attitudes to life.
The book is very fast-paced. The action rarely stops, and the combat is fluid and violently alive.
I look forward to Volume 2.
May 26, 2025
Each chapter of Scars of Magic is a self-contained story, told through the eyes of the main character, Esterra Stake. Each of these stories feels unique as - aside from the manufactured divisions that are chapters - Esterra’s world is also physically divided into “tracts”, each with its unique landscape, climate, and monsters, the latter of which are the book’s star players. The creatures Raaymakers conjures are imaginative, horrifying, and surprising. And it’s that element of surprise that makes Scars of Magic an appealing read: each new chapter, each new “tract”, holds something unexpected, and you’re never quite sure what form Esterra’s next adventure will take. The book is brutally violent, though this is unlikely to surprise those who’ve read the author’s previous works. I’ve never read anything quite like this before, but I’m glad to have now.
February 2, 2025
The post-apocalyptic world of Verpace is easy to get lost in and a joy to explore all of its dark corners. Blade of the Wanderer nails its strong adventurous main character and instills a sense of curiosity about what we might see over every hill. Full review available on FanFiAddict.com.
February 2, 2025
I would recommend this book to those who appreciate immersive world-building and a strong, complex protagonist. It promises a journey through a world as perilous as it is intriguing, leaving readers eager to see where Esterra’s path leads next. You can find my full review here: https://likelystory.blog/2025/02/02/r...
June 16, 2025
A unique and weird fantasy world filled with strange monsters and stranger characters. Looking forward to book 2.
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