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The Luminance Saga #1
The Binding Tempest
The Binding Tempest is the beginning of a new epic fantasy adventure. The debut novel, from a new voice in fantasy, it's a Wheel of Time meets Indiana Jones saga that injects steampunk into High Fantasy.
A fallen empire, a failed republic, and a frontier of alchemy, magic and machines...
An age of alchemy, magic and machines has arrived in the wake of a fallen empire that left the world lost and vulnerable. In the war-torn cities, where gas lamps glow, an ancient threat stalks the energy of souls.
Ellaria Moonstone, a hero of the Great War, has spent the last forty years trying to rebuild. But when she is suspiciously requested to attend a meeting at the Ascendancy Tower in Adalon, she discovers the Coalition of Nations has fallen under the control of a new Sagean Dark Lord. A luminary with the power to control energy, has finally emerged to reclaim the vacated throne. With no one left to trust, Ellaria sends for help from old allies scattered across the chaotic frontier.
Now three aging veterans and a band of young rogues, are all that can protect the failing republic from the return of an evil empire. Together, their only hope lies buried with the mysteries of the past and an ancient relic called the Tempest Stone.
The Binding Tempest is a blend of Epic High Fantasy and Science Fiction. For fans of The Wheel of Time Series, Shadow and Bone or the Stormlight Archives.
A fallen empire, a failed republic, and a frontier of alchemy, magic and machines...
An age of alchemy, magic and machines has arrived in the wake of a fallen empire that left the world lost and vulnerable. In the war-torn cities, where gas lamps glow, an ancient threat stalks the energy of souls.
Ellaria Moonstone, a hero of the Great War, has spent the last forty years trying to rebuild. But when she is suspiciously requested to attend a meeting at the Ascendancy Tower in Adalon, she discovers the Coalition of Nations has fallen under the control of a new Sagean Dark Lord. A luminary with the power to control energy, has finally emerged to reclaim the vacated throne. With no one left to trust, Ellaria sends for help from old allies scattered across the chaotic frontier.
Now three aging veterans and a band of young rogues, are all that can protect the failing republic from the return of an evil empire. Together, their only hope lies buried with the mysteries of the past and an ancient relic called the Tempest Stone.
The Binding Tempest is a blend of Epic High Fantasy and Science Fiction. For fans of The Wheel of Time Series, Shadow and Bone or the Stormlight Archives.
430 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2021
14 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 8, 2021
The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy
This is a solid debut by Steven Rudy who created a beautiful blend of steampunk and fantasy showcasing an age-diverse cast.
Elaria - The badass war veteran and the protector of all knowledge who fought to overthrow the last sagean emperor
Qudin - The enigmatic war hero who also happens to be a powerful luminary
Kovan - Another of the war vetaran struggling to come in terms with his past
Tali - A kind soul with a knack for danger
Learon - A grieving son trying to find his father's killer
Wade - A brother trying to find his missing sister who also happens to complain alot
Steven rudy starts with all the characters scattered around his world and knits them together slowly. This allowed me to view all of his world bit by bit. The world building was rich and sophisticated with many steampunk elements like cloundpartner, winddrifter, pulsators and many other creative details. Sometimes it did get too architecturally detailed that it felt a bit distracting. I hope in the next book we get to see how the nations differ from each other in terms of their citizens and not just there infrastructure.
I loved the magic system!! Was it unique? No, Did i enjoy it? Yes definitely!! Here some humans being called The Luminary are able to sense and control the energy of every matter, . There are also Magic crystals of all kind that can provide healing, power, protection and so on.
As for the Characters, my favorite was Elaria. Actually i loved all the three war vetarans and Tali. Learon and Wade seemed like background noise. I felt this book was more plot driven and so the characters felt a tad bit surfacy. Hoping to see more of character build up and bonding in the next book.
And lastly, it got both world and city maps. What i loved most was that the city maps were right at the start of the chapter. Just where it was needed.
This being my first step into steampunk genre, i enjoyed it overall. Indeed a thoughtful and a creative debut. The plot gives a feel of treasure hunting (well here they are more like Ancient relic hunting) So if you have a knack for similar quest or even a knack for architecture then you will really enjoy this.
This is a solid debut by Steven Rudy who created a beautiful blend of steampunk and fantasy showcasing an age-diverse cast.
Elaria - The badass war veteran and the protector of all knowledge who fought to overthrow the last sagean emperor
Qudin - The enigmatic war hero who also happens to be a powerful luminary
Kovan - Another of the war vetaran struggling to come in terms with his past
Tali - A kind soul with a knack for danger
Learon - A grieving son trying to find his father's killer
Wade - A brother trying to find his missing sister who also happens to complain alot
Steven rudy starts with all the characters scattered around his world and knits them together slowly. This allowed me to view all of his world bit by bit. The world building was rich and sophisticated with many steampunk elements like cloundpartner, winddrifter, pulsators and many other creative details. Sometimes it did get too architecturally detailed that it felt a bit distracting. I hope in the next book we get to see how the nations differ from each other in terms of their citizens and not just there infrastructure.
I loved the magic system!! Was it unique? No, Did i enjoy it? Yes definitely!! Here some humans being called The Luminary are able to sense and control the energy of every matter, . There are also Magic crystals of all kind that can provide healing, power, protection and so on.
As for the Characters, my favorite was Elaria. Actually i loved all the three war vetarans and Tali. Learon and Wade seemed like background noise. I felt this book was more plot driven and so the characters felt a tad bit surfacy. Hoping to see more of character build up and bonding in the next book.
And lastly, it got both world and city maps. What i loved most was that the city maps were right at the start of the chapter. Just where it was needed.
This being my first step into steampunk genre, i enjoyed it overall. Indeed a thoughtful and a creative debut. The plot gives a feel of treasure hunting (well here they are more like Ancient relic hunting) So if you have a knack for similar quest or even a knack for architecture then you will really enjoy this.
August 14, 2021
I am starting to feel extremely lucky with my pull of ARC's from various sites. But this was my favorite one so far this year. The Binding Tempest was one of my favorite reads of the year at this point. It was definitely a heavy fantasy built world with a unique magic system but it was my first read this year with other technological aspects giving it a bit of a steampunk feel too.
I felt the character development and world building were both paced really well. It was interesting to be thrown into the story and then watch the story develop and kind of come back together as our main characters are introduced.
I had previously read some other reviews where readers were disappointed in the usual tropes. Personally if those are the tropes someone enjoys reading and that was what the writer was going for, don't fix what isn't broken! I personally loved the tropes in this one.
By the end of the book I just had to keep turning the page to see what was going to happen. The way the story unfolds letting us know the history and the older generation of heroes and their struggles then also brings us up to speed with our younger generation of would be heroes was nice. I was always looking for the next connection that was going to be made between the members of our group.
I can't wait to see what Steven Rudy brings us next in this series!
I felt the character development and world building were both paced really well. It was interesting to be thrown into the story and then watch the story develop and kind of come back together as our main characters are introduced.
I had previously read some other reviews where readers were disappointed in the usual tropes. Personally if those are the tropes someone enjoys reading and that was what the writer was going for, don't fix what isn't broken! I personally loved the tropes in this one.
By the end of the book I just had to keep turning the page to see what was going to happen. The way the story unfolds letting us know the history and the older generation of heroes and their struggles then also brings us up to speed with our younger generation of would be heroes was nice. I was always looking for the next connection that was going to be made between the members of our group.
I can't wait to see what Steven Rudy brings us next in this series!
September 19, 2021
3.5 Wow, this was an epic fantasy. Blends steampunk and high fantasy together with representation of older MC's
It is carefully planned and written exceptionally in narration. What I really liked is that the main character, Ellaria, is aged in her forties, which we don't see in a lot of fantasy genres, and is still a badass. There is not a lot of representation in women of middle age in fantasy, which I found to be delivered well and made for a compelling main character.
It is very detailed-orientated, which I found to be too much sometime. Everything is described is in minute detail.. At the start it is quite confusing and often overwhelming meeting all the characters and the info-dumping of the world and its history. There were too many elements happening at once
A good start to this grand new saga.
Thankyou to Netgalley and MysticHawk Press LLC for this eARC in exchange for an honest review
It is carefully planned and written exceptionally in narration. What I really liked is that the main character, Ellaria, is aged in her forties, which we don't see in a lot of fantasy genres, and is still a badass. There is not a lot of representation in women of middle age in fantasy, which I found to be delivered well and made for a compelling main character.
It is very detailed-orientated, which I found to be too much sometime. Everything is described is in minute detail.. At the start it is quite confusing and often overwhelming meeting all the characters and the info-dumping of the world and its history. There were too many elements happening at once
A good start to this grand new saga.
Thankyou to Netgalley and MysticHawk Press LLC for this eARC in exchange for an honest review
June 25, 2021
This story has a nice balance of magic and technological science throughout. You find everything from luminarie's (people who can sense the vibrations of any living thing and the energy everything displaces), to crystals that harness magic to be used later (love, healing, etc.), to steampunk mechanisms seen throughout the wonderfully elaborate world-building. Like most fantasy novels, there are maps that depict the world, however, they do not just appear at the beginning of the book. There are a few detailed maps of key cities before the chapter they take place in, and smaller forms of the map wherever the character is in that chapter. I have not seen this in other fantasy novels and found this to be very helpful when picturing where the story was at that given time.
We follow several POV's throughout the story, and every character has a unique perception of the plot. At first, I didn't like some characters, like Wade, who I found rather boring and unnecessary, but as the story progressed I found myself in love with their individual stories and honestly wanting more. Ellaria and Tali were by far my favorite characters. Ellaria was a general in the Great War, and she gives off a powerful and cunning attitude that I found myself wanting in every scene. Tali was interesting from the beginning, but as the story progressed I found myself wondering if there was a deeper story in her character than what was explained.
Overall, I felt that the story had a strong plot, enjoyable characters, and an ending that makes you wish the second book was out already. I'm looking forward to what the next book in this series brings.
A few quotes I found memorable:
"Sorrow is a tree that grows from the soil of wisdom."
"'Simply put, it's called willpower. You see, willpower is the act of channeling the force of belief. Belief, young man, is power.'" - Elias to Learon
"'What is life but energy and light. There's an energy to all things and to all energy there is light - a signature.'" - Elias
We follow several POV's throughout the story, and every character has a unique perception of the plot. At first, I didn't like some characters, like Wade, who I found rather boring and unnecessary, but as the story progressed I found myself in love with their individual stories and honestly wanting more. Ellaria and Tali were by far my favorite characters. Ellaria was a general in the Great War, and she gives off a powerful and cunning attitude that I found myself wanting in every scene. Tali was interesting from the beginning, but as the story progressed I found myself wondering if there was a deeper story in her character than what was explained.
Overall, I felt that the story had a strong plot, enjoyable characters, and an ending that makes you wish the second book was out already. I'm looking forward to what the next book in this series brings.
A few quotes I found memorable:
"Sorrow is a tree that grows from the soil of wisdom."
"'Simply put, it's called willpower. You see, willpower is the act of channeling the force of belief. Belief, young man, is power.'" - Elias to Learon
"'What is life but energy and light. There's an energy to all things and to all energy there is light - a signature.'" - Elias
August 11, 2021
The book was okay.
The worldbuilding is a strong focus of the book and it is quite nice : the world we evolve in feels ancient, with layers of history and political complexity. And - it's what drew me to the book - characters were really well written : they felt sympathetic, yet flawed in their own ways, they acted coherently with what we knew of them, and I particularly liked the character of Ellaria, an aging lady who lead a war forty years ago and is still super badass, while still feeling her age. Such a character is rare in fantasy books, where you encounter young naive boys and girls, or wise mentors with big beards, but rarely women who lead a full life.
However, the story in itself felt a bit meandering, and almost felt like a RPG adventure, where the game master threw the characters on a big quest and gave them new leads to follow during sub-quests. Therefore, the general rythm of the book was a bit off for me: pattern of the intrigue felt repetitive with sub-quests with a particular pairing of characters / reunion / new pairings and a new subquest too follow, and so on... It tired me a bit after a time. Thankfully, I liked the characters well enough to continue.
To be noted also: as a non-native English reader, I got quite confused by editorial mistakes. Phrases felt off, with weird words choices, commas not placed at the right time... I kept wondering if it was me who had a lack in vocabulary or if it was the book (but most of the time, it was the book ^^). It's a pity, because the overall quality of the story remains close to what you would have with big publishing houses (I've read way worse books for big houses), but spelling mistakes should definitely be corrected.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book to review. In the end, I quite enjoyed the ride, in spite of the flaws that I mentioned.
The worldbuilding is a strong focus of the book and it is quite nice : the world we evolve in feels ancient, with layers of history and political complexity. And - it's what drew me to the book - characters were really well written : they felt sympathetic, yet flawed in their own ways, they acted coherently with what we knew of them, and I particularly liked the character of Ellaria, an aging lady who lead a war forty years ago and is still super badass, while still feeling her age. Such a character is rare in fantasy books, where you encounter young naive boys and girls, or wise mentors with big beards, but rarely women who lead a full life.
However, the story in itself felt a bit meandering, and almost felt like a RPG adventure, where the game master threw the characters on a big quest and gave them new leads to follow during sub-quests. Therefore, the general rythm of the book was a bit off for me: pattern of the intrigue felt repetitive with sub-quests with a particular pairing of characters / reunion / new pairings and a new subquest too follow, and so on... It tired me a bit after a time. Thankfully, I liked the characters well enough to continue.
To be noted also: as a non-native English reader, I got quite confused by editorial mistakes. Phrases felt off, with weird words choices, commas not placed at the right time... I kept wondering if it was me who had a lack in vocabulary or if it was the book (but most of the time, it was the book ^^). It's a pity, because the overall quality of the story remains close to what you would have with big publishing houses (I've read way worse books for big houses), but spelling mistakes should definitely be corrected.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book to review. In the end, I quite enjoyed the ride, in spite of the flaws that I mentioned.
June 29, 2021
2 stars - it was okay.
Lots of well done worldbuilding, but still the same old recycled fantasy tropes we saw many times over. The first few chapters are quite confusing as we jump from character to character a la GRR Martin, but less engaging. Some of the word choices were odd and I found the dialogue a bit stilted and stiff sometimes.
However I liked the steampunk elements and I loved the maps and chapter head illustrations a lot.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lots of well done worldbuilding, but still the same old recycled fantasy tropes we saw many times over. The first few chapters are quite confusing as we jump from character to character a la GRR Martin, but less engaging. Some of the word choices were odd and I found the dialogue a bit stilted and stiff sometimes.
However I liked the steampunk elements and I loved the maps and chapter head illustrations a lot.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 30, 2023
Firstly thank you to the author for kindly sharing an audio version of his book with me.
I liked the book. In particular, I enjoyed the world building which was adventurous and done in a well thought out and constructive manner
The plot itself was full of the standard tropes. (Which isn't an issue for me, they are well loved tropes) This did mean I compared it to similar books I've read. I think the author did swing for the fences but perhaps there was room to just reign it in a little which would of made the story flow a bit better for me. With such a good world being built I think the author could of relied on that a bit more to make this feel like a fresh fantasy novel.
The characters needed some more love. I needed a little more depth so I could understand some of the motives of their actions
I think this will be a popular book for spfbo9
I liked the book. In particular, I enjoyed the world building which was adventurous and done in a well thought out and constructive manner
The plot itself was full of the standard tropes. (Which isn't an issue for me, they are well loved tropes) This did mean I compared it to similar books I've read. I think the author did swing for the fences but perhaps there was room to just reign it in a little which would of made the story flow a bit better for me. With such a good world being built I think the author could of relied on that a bit more to make this feel like a fresh fantasy novel.
The characters needed some more love. I needed a little more depth so I could understand some of the motives of their actions
I think this will be a popular book for spfbo9
July 23, 2021
Loved
This is my first high fantasy read in s while
Steven Rudy did an excellent job in making this story come to life A story of coming into ones own power as an alchemist. I loved this story and hope to see more works from Steven Rudy in the future
This is my first high fantasy read in s while
Steven Rudy did an excellent job in making this story come to life A story of coming into ones own power as an alchemist. I loved this story and hope to see more works from Steven Rudy in the future
July 19, 2021
The Binding Tempest (Book One of The Luminance Saga) - Steven Rudy
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.
Steven Rudy is an American author and father of three kids who initially had studied Architecture and taken some minor courses in philosophy and creative writing. With the COVID pandemic proving the opportunity for the author to actually write his first novel.
“The Binding Tempest” follows several main characters – Ellaria, Elias and Kovan the figures from the old war who depending on who you ask are either hero or enemy to the new regime coming into power. Then you have the new blood – Learon, Wade and Tali, the young impressionable youth that have been caught up with the war heroes and their quest to stop the new regime threatening to unleash an old and deadly evil on the land and all those living there.
On their way they will need to learn to trust each other and work together, as well as come to terms with who they truly are and the new direction all their lives have taken. And the craziest stories and myths of the past may not be the crazy stories they were led to believe after all.
Luminaries may not be the scary unknown that they once were, especially for one of the young ones and the Sageans are an evil that needs to be feared and eliminated once and for all, yet as their power is sweeping through the land and all the people who lead and control – it’s a task that seems to grow more insurmountable by the day.
“The Binding Tempest” is an exciting and thrilling new fantasy meets science fiction tale. It was an entertaining story to that was a little National Treasure and a little Stargate – both of which I absolutely love. My favourite characters though would have to be Ellaria, I love how she was tough, didn’t care what others thought of her and was just herself. Kovan though he was quiet - I really related to the love he had for history and felt for the way even his own friends treated him at times, not fully understanding him for who he was – really resonated with me. Tali is such a young lady, who is just a lost soul trying to find her way in the world, discovering more about herself than she thought she ever would.
I am really excited to see where the author takes us for the next instalment of The Luminance Saga.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.
Steven Rudy is an American author and father of three kids who initially had studied Architecture and taken some minor courses in philosophy and creative writing. With the COVID pandemic proving the opportunity for the author to actually write his first novel.
“The Binding Tempest” follows several main characters – Ellaria, Elias and Kovan the figures from the old war who depending on who you ask are either hero or enemy to the new regime coming into power. Then you have the new blood – Learon, Wade and Tali, the young impressionable youth that have been caught up with the war heroes and their quest to stop the new regime threatening to unleash an old and deadly evil on the land and all those living there.
On their way they will need to learn to trust each other and work together, as well as come to terms with who they truly are and the new direction all their lives have taken. And the craziest stories and myths of the past may not be the crazy stories they were led to believe after all.
Luminaries may not be the scary unknown that they once were, especially for one of the young ones and the Sageans are an evil that needs to be feared and eliminated once and for all, yet as their power is sweeping through the land and all the people who lead and control – it’s a task that seems to grow more insurmountable by the day.
“The Binding Tempest” is an exciting and thrilling new fantasy meets science fiction tale. It was an entertaining story to that was a little National Treasure and a little Stargate – both of which I absolutely love. My favourite characters though would have to be Ellaria, I love how she was tough, didn’t care what others thought of her and was just herself. Kovan though he was quiet - I really related to the love he had for history and felt for the way even his own friends treated him at times, not fully understanding him for who he was – really resonated with me. Tali is such a young lady, who is just a lost soul trying to find her way in the world, discovering more about herself than she thought she ever would.
I am really excited to see where the author takes us for the next instalment of The Luminance Saga.
June 29, 2021
I picked up this book after reading it's’ interesting summary and ended up liking this book.
We are following several POVs throughout the book, 4 of them are older veterans of a prior War that got rid of the Empire, and a couple of youngsters. A new Dark Lord has risen and it’s up to the crew to stop it.
There are so many amazing steampunk elements (early Victorian-esque designs combined with technology) and machines in the world. It was fascinating to read about, and my first introduction into the steampunk genre.
At first it took me a while to get used to all of the characters, I felt a few of them were a bit boring and I was eagerly waiting for other character’s chapters (mainly Ellaria Moonstone and Tali). I liked how Rudy separated the various characters out in the different parts of the world, which gives us readers more outlook into his world.
I felt there was too much description, and it was a slog to get through. Just too overly complex and it could be cut out of the book and it wouldn't affect the plot. There were also many, many info-dumps of every character’s past and thoughts, and the magic system. I didn’t like the amount of exposition characters would sprout out to each other, and the readers, it was just too much. It happened several times throughout the book. I didn’t like the way it was done.
I won’t be continuing on this series. Overall the magic system was interesting, I liked a few of the characters and loved the steampunk elements, which was the main reason I finished this book. Check it out if you’re interested in the steampunk genre and a unique magic system!
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an e-arc for this book!
We are following several POVs throughout the book, 4 of them are older veterans of a prior War that got rid of the Empire, and a couple of youngsters. A new Dark Lord has risen and it’s up to the crew to stop it.
There are so many amazing steampunk elements (early Victorian-esque designs combined with technology) and machines in the world. It was fascinating to read about, and my first introduction into the steampunk genre.
At first it took me a while to get used to all of the characters, I felt a few of them were a bit boring and I was eagerly waiting for other character’s chapters (mainly Ellaria Moonstone and Tali). I liked how Rudy separated the various characters out in the different parts of the world, which gives us readers more outlook into his world.
I felt there was too much description, and it was a slog to get through. Just too overly complex and it could be cut out of the book and it wouldn't affect the plot. There were also many, many info-dumps of every character’s past and thoughts, and the magic system. I didn’t like the amount of exposition characters would sprout out to each other, and the readers, it was just too much. It happened several times throughout the book. I didn’t like the way it was done.
I won’t be continuing on this series. Overall the magic system was interesting, I liked a few of the characters and loved the steampunk elements, which was the main reason I finished this book. Check it out if you’re interested in the steampunk genre and a unique magic system!
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an e-arc for this book!
June 24, 2021
The story is perfectly serviceable. Evil emperor killed, emerging menacing new emperor (possibly the same as the old emperor), three legendary jedi knights, umm, heroes from killing of first emperor brought back to deal with new emerging menace, along with three new sidekicks (one for each of the heroes). Whoops, sorry, I got mixed up with the Star War series.
But not too surprising. As I mentioned, this is a pretty standard story. Reasonably well told. But oh lord, the typos. A huge number of sentences are unfinished. But the author also likes to use words that are almost but not quite what you expect. Examples:
1. A really exasperating typo: "She gave Leon an exacerbated look"
2. "Somehow, they slipped through the city undeterred". That typo was almost undetected.
3. "The young man ... took a moment to judge the peculiar cohorts standing before him. At that point, I was under the impression that there was only one cohort, but who knows.
4. ""Yes?" the young man said in a slow whimpered voice."
When I started whimpering myself at the typos, I had to give up reading.
Good effort though, so 2 stars instead of 1. Not much steampunk which is what the blurb promised. More fantasy but with largely unexplained magic-building.
But not too surprising. As I mentioned, this is a pretty standard story. Reasonably well told. But oh lord, the typos. A huge number of sentences are unfinished. But the author also likes to use words that are almost but not quite what you expect. Examples:
1. A really exasperating typo: "She gave Leon an exacerbated look"
2. "Somehow, they slipped through the city undeterred". That typo was almost undetected.
3. "The young man ... took a moment to judge the peculiar cohorts standing before him. At that point, I was under the impression that there was only one cohort, but who knows.
4. ""Yes?" the young man said in a slow whimpered voice."
When I started whimpering myself at the typos, I had to give up reading.
Good effort though, so 2 stars instead of 1. Not much steampunk which is what the blurb promised. More fantasy but with largely unexplained magic-building.
July 24, 2021
Thank you, the author and NetGalley, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
First off, congratulation to the author for his fascinating debut novel.
OMG! This epic book is one of my favorite books of the year! The fantastic world-building told me that the author had put a lot of planning to come up with this tremendous, thoughtful story. I must admit, I am fascinated by the graphics in the book, and the maps are clear and valuable. Don’t forget to look at the Glossary too; it will help you keep up with everything if you have a lazy memory, just like mine!
I was hooked from page one and finished reading the book in just a few days. Although this is a complicated story, the description was vivid and clear. The plot was fast-paced and full of actions that will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time. The writing style was beautiful, and the characters were layered; my favorite was Tali. The magic was interesting, and I loved the steampunk elements.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this fabulous book, and I can’t wait to read the next one! I recommend it to everyone who likes high fantasy and epic stories.
First off, congratulation to the author for his fascinating debut novel.
OMG! This epic book is one of my favorite books of the year! The fantastic world-building told me that the author had put a lot of planning to come up with this tremendous, thoughtful story. I must admit, I am fascinated by the graphics in the book, and the maps are clear and valuable. Don’t forget to look at the Glossary too; it will help you keep up with everything if you have a lazy memory, just like mine!
I was hooked from page one and finished reading the book in just a few days. Although this is a complicated story, the description was vivid and clear. The plot was fast-paced and full of actions that will keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time. The writing style was beautiful, and the characters were layered; my favorite was Tali. The magic was interesting, and I loved the steampunk elements.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this fabulous book, and I can’t wait to read the next one! I recommend it to everyone who likes high fantasy and epic stories.
October 1, 2021
I felt for this book, I really did. I identified with it. This book ... this book is me. Complete with the arguably unnecessary padding. More of us to love, that's the justification.
There's more of us to love.
Okay, this started weird, so let's get into it. The Binding Tempest is not a science-fiction story, but then it's not a fantasy story either. It's kind of a steampunk outing but that's just because of the New World and Revolutionary War theme, not to mention the horses and guns and zeppelins. Don't be misled by the horses and guns and zeppelins, as the old Aztec saying goes. They exist only to lead you into strange rooms where men with odd facial hair-
This is not getting any less weird. Sorry. I blame the Aztecs. My point is, this is a distinctly genre nonbinary story and I love that. It's inspiring. When I read a book and it makes me want to get back to my own writing, it's either because the book is terrible (this wasn't) or because the book reminds me of why I love to read, and love to write. This was that.
So, there was magic and early industrial stuff as well as high energy weapons and portals and automatons. Awesome! There were different lands and histories and relics and politics and the whole tapestry was so incredibly rich. And the maps! I loved them. Extra credit for the maps, I want an A3 glossy print edition of this book just for the maps, the Kindle really didn't do them justice (who zooms? Not me).
There were a couple of great characters in it. Qudin, from the moment he first does his quantum magic thing and bleeds from the ears, absolutely charmed me. The setup of his backstory with the Sagean Emperor felt a little bit like Szeth in the Stormlight books by Sanderson, but so what? Tali, and her magic pressure-blowouts, well she's just purely epic. Loved it. And Ellaria Moonstone, aka Ms. Moonstone, is amazing (in fact compared to her, most of the other characters were a bit run-of-the-mill and she could have been edited into being the most central, perhaps even lone, point of view). And she's in her late fifties! Mature female protagonists, represent.
So what was the problem?
Okay, so I have to say there was a bit of clumsy language throughout, that made it difficult to engage with. The story had a lot of exposition and description, and you have to combine that with readability or it's going to be really obvious there's pages and pages of exposition and description. Take it from a known waffler. It's nothing a round of good hard editing couldn't improve, but this is a very big and very dense book so said edit would be a large undertaking. The story needs the exposition, because ultimately this book is an exploration of a world and its history set against the backdrop of a motley hero group on a quest, rather than the other way around. But that means a lot of it needs to be stripped and cut down and washed out.
I am a big fan of the Massive Worldbuilding Infodump metagenre, so keep in mind that I suspect my tolerance will be higher than average. This book is a very deep, very loving tour of a world that obviously took a ton of creative effort. Our heroes seem to do a lot of treasure hunting and digging up of old knowledge, which to me was quite enjoyable to read for its own sake - but it does tend to leave the overall plot feeling messy and difficult to quantify. The titular Binding Tempest is the result of the Quantum Man and the Sagean fighting, which generated the power to unleash the Wrythen, and I think that's what they were trying to do something about? Considering that the action keeps clipping along, it is at once busy and aimless. Also it's a part one, so the ultimate story arc is incomplete anyway.
I had a smile at the Hex-like computer and I definitely enjoyed the big old guard robot thing towards the end, that was when it really started to feel like a science fiction story (the epilogue was almost entirely sci-fi) but like I say - I don't believe in stories having to be one thing or another. Stories don't work that way. Sorting machines do.
After all the build-up, the final showdown and revelations seemed strange and abrupt. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is a symptom of the Massive Worldbuilding Infodump metagenre. Overall, I quite enjoyed this but I think maybe the best way to tell the story would be to just have the characters exist in that world, and let the reader know the author is intimately familiar with it rather than attempting to upload the same level of familiarity to the reader. That will happen organically over time and (I hope) many books.
Sex-o-meter
This, again, wasn't that sort of story. Stop trying to have sex with me, we're in the middle of a deep dive through an entire science fiction / fantasy atlas, history book and encyclopaedia here! Goodness, there's a time and a place, okay? Anyway yeah, you get the point. The Binding Tempest gets an atlas, a history book and an encyclopaedia out of a possible one sexual intercourse.
Gore-o-meter
There was some good action, some thrilling and violent wolverack attacks (loved the critters in this book!), some blood and fighting. But overall there wasn't much more gore than there was sex. It was fine, one flesh-gobbet out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
A rich, heavy vein of WTF runs through this story, as it should when we're talking a genre-defying spray of unconstrained creative juicery. Most of the WTF is explained, of course, so TF is quite solidly quantified by the time we've explored Rudy's impressive world. We know exactly WTF TF is all about, if we've paid attention while TF is being outlined for us. So stop asking. The WTF-o-meter gives this a Spearpoint / Godscraper out of a possible Dark Tower.
My Final Verdict
I can only admire the scope and ambition of this story, and reiterate how great the maps and illustrations were. Ultimately there was just so much worldbuilding and exposition to fit into the story, the story itself got lost in the woods. And that's saying something, coming from me! Three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
There's more of us to love.
Okay, this started weird, so let's get into it. The Binding Tempest is not a science-fiction story, but then it's not a fantasy story either. It's kind of a steampunk outing but that's just because of the New World and Revolutionary War theme, not to mention the horses and guns and zeppelins. Don't be misled by the horses and guns and zeppelins, as the old Aztec saying goes. They exist only to lead you into strange rooms where men with odd facial hair-
This is not getting any less weird. Sorry. I blame the Aztecs. My point is, this is a distinctly genre nonbinary story and I love that. It's inspiring. When I read a book and it makes me want to get back to my own writing, it's either because the book is terrible (this wasn't) or because the book reminds me of why I love to read, and love to write. This was that.
So, there was magic and early industrial stuff as well as high energy weapons and portals and automatons. Awesome! There were different lands and histories and relics and politics and the whole tapestry was so incredibly rich. And the maps! I loved them. Extra credit for the maps, I want an A3 glossy print edition of this book just for the maps, the Kindle really didn't do them justice (who zooms? Not me).
There were a couple of great characters in it. Qudin, from the moment he first does his quantum magic thing and bleeds from the ears, absolutely charmed me. The setup of his backstory with the Sagean Emperor felt a little bit like Szeth in the Stormlight books by Sanderson, but so what? Tali, and her magic pressure-blowouts, well she's just purely epic. Loved it. And Ellaria Moonstone, aka Ms. Moonstone, is amazing (in fact compared to her, most of the other characters were a bit run-of-the-mill and she could have been edited into being the most central, perhaps even lone, point of view). And she's in her late fifties! Mature female protagonists, represent.
So what was the problem?
Okay, so I have to say there was a bit of clumsy language throughout, that made it difficult to engage with. The story had a lot of exposition and description, and you have to combine that with readability or it's going to be really obvious there's pages and pages of exposition and description. Take it from a known waffler. It's nothing a round of good hard editing couldn't improve, but this is a very big and very dense book so said edit would be a large undertaking. The story needs the exposition, because ultimately this book is an exploration of a world and its history set against the backdrop of a motley hero group on a quest, rather than the other way around. But that means a lot of it needs to be stripped and cut down and washed out.
I am a big fan of the Massive Worldbuilding Infodump metagenre, so keep in mind that I suspect my tolerance will be higher than average. This book is a very deep, very loving tour of a world that obviously took a ton of creative effort. Our heroes seem to do a lot of treasure hunting and digging up of old knowledge, which to me was quite enjoyable to read for its own sake - but it does tend to leave the overall plot feeling messy and difficult to quantify. The titular Binding Tempest is the result of the Quantum Man and the Sagean fighting, which generated the power to unleash the Wrythen, and I think that's what they were trying to do something about? Considering that the action keeps clipping along, it is at once busy and aimless. Also it's a part one, so the ultimate story arc is incomplete anyway.
I had a smile at the Hex-like computer and I definitely enjoyed the big old guard robot thing towards the end, that was when it really started to feel like a science fiction story (the epilogue was almost entirely sci-fi) but like I say - I don't believe in stories having to be one thing or another. Stories don't work that way. Sorting machines do.
After all the build-up, the final showdown and revelations seemed strange and abrupt. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is a symptom of the Massive Worldbuilding Infodump metagenre. Overall, I quite enjoyed this but I think maybe the best way to tell the story would be to just have the characters exist in that world, and let the reader know the author is intimately familiar with it rather than attempting to upload the same level of familiarity to the reader. That will happen organically over time and (I hope) many books.
Sex-o-meter
This, again, wasn't that sort of story. Stop trying to have sex with me, we're in the middle of a deep dive through an entire science fiction / fantasy atlas, history book and encyclopaedia here! Goodness, there's a time and a place, okay? Anyway yeah, you get the point. The Binding Tempest gets an atlas, a history book and an encyclopaedia out of a possible one sexual intercourse.
Gore-o-meter
There was some good action, some thrilling and violent wolverack attacks (loved the critters in this book!), some blood and fighting. But overall there wasn't much more gore than there was sex. It was fine, one flesh-gobbet out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
A rich, heavy vein of WTF runs through this story, as it should when we're talking a genre-defying spray of unconstrained creative juicery. Most of the WTF is explained, of course, so TF is quite solidly quantified by the time we've explored Rudy's impressive world. We know exactly WTF TF is all about, if we've paid attention while TF is being outlined for us. So stop asking. The WTF-o-meter gives this a Spearpoint / Godscraper out of a possible Dark Tower.
My Final Verdict
I can only admire the scope and ambition of this story, and reiterate how great the maps and illustrations were. Ultimately there was just so much worldbuilding and exposition to fit into the story, the story itself got lost in the woods. And that's saying something, coming from me! Three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
February 12, 2022
“Ellaria knew that ignorance would never be convinced with the truth, especially when the truth was inconvenient”.
4 ⭐
This book is a solid 4 stars read. It’s interesting, funny, with good characters and good worldbuilding, as well as intriguing.
I really appreciate all the effort Steven Rudy put into building this world. It shows dedication and makes the story more palpable. There is history and religion, as well as different cultures, although we didn’t get to see much about this last part. It also has political complexity and a very cool magic system. The magic system isn’t particularly original, it reminded me a bit of the name of the wind’s magic system in some parts (mainly in the “you don’t create energy, you use existence energy” part), but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The downside about all of this is that, since the author tried giving a lot of information regarding the world they created, how it works and stuff, it could get confusing at times (and since I had an e-copy of the book, going all the way to the back to look at the glossary was tiring, which made me not want to flip the pages all the way to the back and just try my best to imagine the scene). I did love, though, that it has MAPS. And like, a LOT of maps. Again, since I had an e-copy looking at the maps was difficult, but I can just imagine how good they look on a physical copy. They seemed to be very detailed.
The story was very interesting and it was also interesting to see how things started clicking together as the time passed and the characters started getting together. Plus, each character’s backstories make things more appealing. I was a bit confused about one thing tho, and that is, where did they get their money from? Because they seemed to be able to buy what they needed but the money appeared out of nowhere.
The characters are well built, in my opinion. Each of them is different and has something unique to them in the group. They also had a backstory each that the author took effort in creating, making the characters more real, if that makes any sense. I’d like to see a bit more about those backstories tho in the next book. They are also age diverse since we have three younger characters and another three war veterans, all of them around their fifties/sixties, but just with the same energy and determination as the other half of the group. This gives the book more richness too since during the story the experience and knowledge of the older generation blends with the fresh ideas and mindset of the younger generation.
The relationships between the characters flowed naturally and didn’t seem forced. I particularly liked the relationship between Tali and Kovan. It was nice seeing how they went to strangers to this father and daughter kind of relationship. I feel like they both needed that kind of bond. Something else that I liked was the fact that the author didn’t make a couple out of the Tali and Learon or Tali and Wade just because they are a boy and a girl. They develop a friendship and I’d even say Tali and Learon are more like siblings. They have a nice relationship and it’s nice seeing boys and girls in books having a friendship and not making them all fall in love with each other just for the sake of having a romantic plot.
A big reason for the relationships between the characters to seem so natural are the dialogues, which in content are good, meaning that the interactions between the characters aren’t stiff. That being said, the description of the dialogues could use some help, especially with the verbs used. Towards the end it got better, but the verbs used to describe the dialogues mainly consisted of “say” and “ask”, which can make the reading a bit rigid after reading three consecutive times “he said” - “she said” - “he said”. There are more verbs such as: reply, inquire, answer, tell, etc. With a wider variety of verbs used to describe dialogues, the book could be better.
4 ⭐
This book is a solid 4 stars read. It’s interesting, funny, with good characters and good worldbuilding, as well as intriguing.
I really appreciate all the effort Steven Rudy put into building this world. It shows dedication and makes the story more palpable. There is history and religion, as well as different cultures, although we didn’t get to see much about this last part. It also has political complexity and a very cool magic system. The magic system isn’t particularly original, it reminded me a bit of the name of the wind’s magic system in some parts (mainly in the “you don’t create energy, you use existence energy” part), but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The downside about all of this is that, since the author tried giving a lot of information regarding the world they created, how it works and stuff, it could get confusing at times (and since I had an e-copy of the book, going all the way to the back to look at the glossary was tiring, which made me not want to flip the pages all the way to the back and just try my best to imagine the scene). I did love, though, that it has MAPS. And like, a LOT of maps. Again, since I had an e-copy looking at the maps was difficult, but I can just imagine how good they look on a physical copy. They seemed to be very detailed.
The story was very interesting and it was also interesting to see how things started clicking together as the time passed and the characters started getting together. Plus, each character’s backstories make things more appealing. I was a bit confused about one thing tho, and that is, where did they get their money from? Because they seemed to be able to buy what they needed but the money appeared out of nowhere.
The characters are well built, in my opinion. Each of them is different and has something unique to them in the group. They also had a backstory each that the author took effort in creating, making the characters more real, if that makes any sense. I’d like to see a bit more about those backstories tho in the next book. They are also age diverse since we have three younger characters and another three war veterans, all of them around their fifties/sixties, but just with the same energy and determination as the other half of the group. This gives the book more richness too since during the story the experience and knowledge of the older generation blends with the fresh ideas and mindset of the younger generation.
The relationships between the characters flowed naturally and didn’t seem forced. I particularly liked the relationship between Tali and Kovan. It was nice seeing how they went to strangers to this father and daughter kind of relationship. I feel like they both needed that kind of bond. Something else that I liked was the fact that the author didn’t make a couple out of the Tali and Learon or Tali and Wade just because they are a boy and a girl. They develop a friendship and I’d even say Tali and Learon are more like siblings. They have a nice relationship and it’s nice seeing boys and girls in books having a friendship and not making them all fall in love with each other just for the sake of having a romantic plot.
A big reason for the relationships between the characters to seem so natural are the dialogues, which in content are good, meaning that the interactions between the characters aren’t stiff. That being said, the description of the dialogues could use some help, especially with the verbs used. Towards the end it got better, but the verbs used to describe the dialogues mainly consisted of “say” and “ask”, which can make the reading a bit rigid after reading three consecutive times “he said” - “she said” - “he said”. There are more verbs such as: reply, inquire, answer, tell, etc. With a wider variety of verbs used to describe dialogues, the book could be better.
June 30, 2021
Do you like high/Epic fantasy intertwined with Steampunk? Are you a player or a fan of Dungeons and Dragons? Are you looking for an age-diverse cast? Are you a fan of lively Fantasy worlds with detailed history and architecture? Then this may just be the book for you.
After the Sagean empire fell, the people of Territhmina experience freedom like never before. But when Ellaria, a war veteran in her fifties, is called to Adalon, this freedom seems to be in danger.
Feeling the threat, she calls on her two old friends and war heroes to help her stop a new Sagean emperor from overtaking the Coalition of Nations and dooming them all. Together with three young adults they must ensure the freedom they fought so hard for will remain.
This book surprised me in the nicest way. I love how the older characters interact with the younger ones. It's something you don't read a lot and I must say I wasn't expecting it but I'm very much in love with it. All main characters had their own distinguished personalities, which I was worried about as there are six of them so they can easily drown each other out. Luckily this wasn’t the case and every one of the characters had their own expertise to bring to the table. What I do like to see more of is the different nationalities in Territhmina. *slight spoiler* How does Tali physically stand out in another part of the world? I would love to read more about physical characteristics like skin colour and how that does or doesn’t change the social standing.
The writing style was something I had to ease into, but once I was in, I was hooked. Apart from the occasional flaw in sentencing it's an amazing book so far! I believe the writer Steven Rudy created his own publishing house to publish this book, so some mistakes I expect as it isn’t published under a big publishing company. I’m always lenient when it comes to self-publishing as it is a lot more work. He did have an editor look at it though, but it could be just for the formatting of the book and not the mistakes in the writing itself. Some mistakes were big like missing words, but never dramatic enough that I couldn’t understand the text. I loved the third person narrative that changed focus every chapter. This helped bring out each character’s personality.
The plot was a bit slow at times for my liking but intrigued me enough to continue reading. I loved the description of architecture and I understand that in a first book in a series much more description is necessary, but sometimes it held up the plot. I loved how the plot is very character driven as well as sudden urgencies that needed to be resolved. It felt very much like a main quest in Dungeons and Dragons where the party members get some side quests thrown at them. There also was the subplot of characters wanting to resolve their own problems, like finding a missing sister and avenging someone’s death. It kept things interesting and told more about character’s backgrounds.
I very much enjoyed this book. The main characters were very much likable with realistic flaws assigned to them. I liked the detailed world with its vibrant history you uncover along with the main characters. I loved the maps in between chapters! It helped a lot with the storytelling and navigating this big, new, interesting world. But my review is still missing a star. That’s because the plot sometimes was a bit too slow and some descriptors a bit too detailed. I also would really want more physical description for different nationalities. Luckily it didn’t withhold me to finish this book and I’m very glad I did. I can’t wait for the next one!
After the Sagean empire fell, the people of Territhmina experience freedom like never before. But when Ellaria, a war veteran in her fifties, is called to Adalon, this freedom seems to be in danger.
Feeling the threat, she calls on her two old friends and war heroes to help her stop a new Sagean emperor from overtaking the Coalition of Nations and dooming them all. Together with three young adults they must ensure the freedom they fought so hard for will remain.
This book surprised me in the nicest way. I love how the older characters interact with the younger ones. It's something you don't read a lot and I must say I wasn't expecting it but I'm very much in love with it. All main characters had their own distinguished personalities, which I was worried about as there are six of them so they can easily drown each other out. Luckily this wasn’t the case and every one of the characters had their own expertise to bring to the table. What I do like to see more of is the different nationalities in Territhmina. *slight spoiler* How does Tali physically stand out in another part of the world? I would love to read more about physical characteristics like skin colour and how that does or doesn’t change the social standing.
The writing style was something I had to ease into, but once I was in, I was hooked. Apart from the occasional flaw in sentencing it's an amazing book so far! I believe the writer Steven Rudy created his own publishing house to publish this book, so some mistakes I expect as it isn’t published under a big publishing company. I’m always lenient when it comes to self-publishing as it is a lot more work. He did have an editor look at it though, but it could be just for the formatting of the book and not the mistakes in the writing itself. Some mistakes were big like missing words, but never dramatic enough that I couldn’t understand the text. I loved the third person narrative that changed focus every chapter. This helped bring out each character’s personality.
The plot was a bit slow at times for my liking but intrigued me enough to continue reading. I loved the description of architecture and I understand that in a first book in a series much more description is necessary, but sometimes it held up the plot. I loved how the plot is very character driven as well as sudden urgencies that needed to be resolved. It felt very much like a main quest in Dungeons and Dragons where the party members get some side quests thrown at them. There also was the subplot of characters wanting to resolve their own problems, like finding a missing sister and avenging someone’s death. It kept things interesting and told more about character’s backgrounds.
I very much enjoyed this book. The main characters were very much likable with realistic flaws assigned to them. I liked the detailed world with its vibrant history you uncover along with the main characters. I loved the maps in between chapters! It helped a lot with the storytelling and navigating this big, new, interesting world. But my review is still missing a star. That’s because the plot sometimes was a bit too slow and some descriptors a bit too detailed. I also would really want more physical description for different nationalities. Luckily it didn’t withhold me to finish this book and I’m very glad I did. I can’t wait for the next one!
July 14, 2021
Rudy makes good use of elements borrowed from both classic high fantasy and steampunk fiction in his spectacular series kicker in The Luminance Saga.
It’s been forty years since Ellaria fought in the Great War and helped build the Coalition of Nations. But a new Sagean emperor has overtaken the Coalition, threatening to take away the freedom of Territhmina. Desperate, Ellaria turns to her old partners scattered across the land. The aging veterans accompanied by a band of young allies set on to protect the failing republic. And their only hope lies buried with the mysteries of the past and an ancient relic called the Tempest Stone.
The narrative spins out into numerous story lines, switching between the perspectives of a large cast of thoroughly developed characters, including the average humans, powerful luminary with the power to control energy, and sinister dark forces seeking to rule the empire. Ellaria struggles to protect what’s left of the Coalition of Nations she helped build ages ago. Kovan and Qudin, enigmatic and powerful war heroes, are dealing with the demons of their past. Learn, grieving his father’s unexplained death, tries to find answers to what happened. Wade and Tali, merely trudging through life, looking for a bigger purpose. As these characters’ paths slowly converge, Rudy plunges readers into a layered world of magic, alchemy, and ancient mysteries.
Though the righteous, determined Ellaria steals the show, the rest of the cast hold their own. By throwing his motley crew of characters into a deadly quest and moving each one’s story along, Rudy keeps the reader invested. The premise is promising, and the crystal-based magic system makes for a fascinating concept. Rudy develops his fantasy world with a keen understanding of archetypal human concerns such as loyalty, duty, responsibility, sacrifice, revenge, friendship, honor, and loyalty. perfect for sophisticated fantasy readers.
Bolstered by vivid, brilliant descriptions, Rudy’s high-intensity storytelling shines, and the assured, intelligent prose allow readers to stay invested. The expert combination of immersive storytelling, strong characters, and well-woven mixture of speculative and steampunk elements makes for an unforgettable experience.
However, this is not an escapist novel: readers hoping for a fast-paced, formulaic read should look elsewhere. There is a slow, exposition-laden buildup, with the main storyline developing gradually on a classic high fantasy framework of black-and-white morality and magic and alchemy.
Fans of intricately crafted, sophisticated high fantasy won’t want to miss this.
It’s been forty years since Ellaria fought in the Great War and helped build the Coalition of Nations. But a new Sagean emperor has overtaken the Coalition, threatening to take away the freedom of Territhmina. Desperate, Ellaria turns to her old partners scattered across the land. The aging veterans accompanied by a band of young allies set on to protect the failing republic. And their only hope lies buried with the mysteries of the past and an ancient relic called the Tempest Stone.
The narrative spins out into numerous story lines, switching between the perspectives of a large cast of thoroughly developed characters, including the average humans, powerful luminary with the power to control energy, and sinister dark forces seeking to rule the empire. Ellaria struggles to protect what’s left of the Coalition of Nations she helped build ages ago. Kovan and Qudin, enigmatic and powerful war heroes, are dealing with the demons of their past. Learn, grieving his father’s unexplained death, tries to find answers to what happened. Wade and Tali, merely trudging through life, looking for a bigger purpose. As these characters’ paths slowly converge, Rudy plunges readers into a layered world of magic, alchemy, and ancient mysteries.
Though the righteous, determined Ellaria steals the show, the rest of the cast hold their own. By throwing his motley crew of characters into a deadly quest and moving each one’s story along, Rudy keeps the reader invested. The premise is promising, and the crystal-based magic system makes for a fascinating concept. Rudy develops his fantasy world with a keen understanding of archetypal human concerns such as loyalty, duty, responsibility, sacrifice, revenge, friendship, honor, and loyalty. perfect for sophisticated fantasy readers.
Bolstered by vivid, brilliant descriptions, Rudy’s high-intensity storytelling shines, and the assured, intelligent prose allow readers to stay invested. The expert combination of immersive storytelling, strong characters, and well-woven mixture of speculative and steampunk elements makes for an unforgettable experience.
However, this is not an escapist novel: readers hoping for a fast-paced, formulaic read should look elsewhere. There is a slow, exposition-laden buildup, with the main storyline developing gradually on a classic high fantasy framework of black-and-white morality and magic and alchemy.
Fans of intricately crafted, sophisticated high fantasy won’t want to miss this.
January 31, 2022
RATING:
3.5 STARS
Steven Rudy’s The Binding Tempest is an engaging blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk themes. Even before you start reading, it's obvious that the author put a lot of care and attention into the creation of this book. The maps are intricate and detailed. The cover is beautiful (this is a big part of why I picked up the series in the first place). The worldbuilding is innovative and unique, borrowing some of the best parts from each of the genres it mixes. There were a couple of minor issues here and there, but overall The Binding Tempest was a fun and entertaining read. As a bonus, at the time of writing this review, The Binding Tempest was available to Kindle Unlimited members to read for free.
The beginning of the book does take a bit to pick up steam, but it's worth pushing through. In my opinion, the author had to set the stage and the stakes before the real action could begin. While I completely understand this, there were moments where the movement of the story seemed to suffer in the name of worldbuilding. Despite these small hiccups, the worldbuilding was well worth it. Mr. Rudy’s descriptions are vivid and detailed, and I had no issues envisioning the picture that the author was painting for readers.
One thing I found curious about the book was the age of the characters. In many books aimed at young adults, the characters are of similar age as the intended audience. The cast of characters in The Binding Tempest spans a wide age range, making this a strong choice for those who looking for a book that's not focused on your stereotypical “teenager” storylines. The interactions between the older group and the younger group helped endear the characters to me and make me invested in their story. My favorite character, out of everyone, was Ellaria.
Overall, a very strong debut novel. I would recommend this book to steampunk fans, and those who enjoyed franchises like Wheel of Time or Indiana Jones. If you love books heavy on worldbuilding (like me), then The Luminance Saga is a great choice. I’m excited to read the sequel, Shadow Bound Souls (which comes out in February 2022), and see how the story progresses.
Thank you to the author, Mystic Hawk Press, and Jaime at Rockstar Book Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the blog tour for the sequel Shadow Bound Souls. I appreciate the opportunity immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed The Binding Tempest. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.
Steven Rudy’s The Binding Tempest is an engaging blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk themes. Even before you start reading, it's obvious that the author put a lot of care and attention into the creation of this book. The maps are intricate and detailed. The cover is beautiful (this is a big part of why I picked up the series in the first place). The worldbuilding is innovative and unique, borrowing some of the best parts from each of the genres it mixes. There were a couple of minor issues here and there, but overall The Binding Tempest was a fun and entertaining read. As a bonus, at the time of writing this review, The Binding Tempest was available to Kindle Unlimited members to read for free.
The beginning of the book does take a bit to pick up steam, but it's worth pushing through. In my opinion, the author had to set the stage and the stakes before the real action could begin. While I completely understand this, there were moments where the movement of the story seemed to suffer in the name of worldbuilding. Despite these small hiccups, the worldbuilding was well worth it. Mr. Rudy’s descriptions are vivid and detailed, and I had no issues envisioning the picture that the author was painting for readers.
One thing I found curious about the book was the age of the characters. In many books aimed at young adults, the characters are of similar age as the intended audience. The cast of characters in The Binding Tempest spans a wide age range, making this a strong choice for those who looking for a book that's not focused on your stereotypical “teenager” storylines. The interactions between the older group and the younger group helped endear the characters to me and make me invested in their story. My favorite character, out of everyone, was Ellaria.
Overall, a very strong debut novel. I would recommend this book to steampunk fans, and those who enjoyed franchises like Wheel of Time or Indiana Jones. If you love books heavy on worldbuilding (like me), then The Luminance Saga is a great choice. I’m excited to read the sequel, Shadow Bound Souls (which comes out in February 2022), and see how the story progresses.
Thank you to the author, Mystic Hawk Press, and Jaime at Rockstar Book Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the blog tour for the sequel Shadow Bound Souls. I appreciate the opportunity immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed The Binding Tempest. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.
November 28, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am aware that there is a newer edition of this book out now that has gone through a little more editing. However, since I got my copy through NetGalley, this review will focus on that version.
As soon as you start reading, you know you're in for an epic fantasy story. I did like all the maps provided, and they were helpful because a lot of this book is spent on worldbuilding. And the world is interesting - it just contains a LOT of small details. This leads to some info dumping, and a lot of telling and not showing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Sometimes you need to tell and not show, but doing it over and over again makes me lose my focus a bit. Even with all the descriptions, this wasn't super hard to read as a fantasy, but it did have a lot of names and such to keep track of.
The beginning was especially a little difficult to get through. I skimmed a few of the larger paragraphs and could still understand what was happening. Once the plot started going, I was more invested. What made this a slower read for me was the large amount of typos/awkward sentences. Besides dialogue not having a lot of descriptions outside the quotation marks, commas were awkwardly placed, sentences stopped abruptly and didn't flow with each other, and there were question marks at the end of sentences that weren't even questions. There were also sentences that SHOULD be just one sentence but were instead awkwardly split into two. In short, the book needed a bit more editing, which I hope the most recent edition achieved. I imagine it would take a while to sift through this book, simply because it's so long.
I liked how one of the main characters, Ellaria, is in her 50s. We don't get to see older protagonists that often, especially in a fantasy. I did find her POV to be the least interesting to me for half the book, and I especially liked Kovan.
The plot itself was interesting, and as someone who likes adult fantasy, it had its merits. The journey there was what slowed me down, and I felt some of it lag towards the middle. If you like detailed fantasy, this book will be for you.
I am aware that there is a newer edition of this book out now that has gone through a little more editing. However, since I got my copy through NetGalley, this review will focus on that version.
As soon as you start reading, you know you're in for an epic fantasy story. I did like all the maps provided, and they were helpful because a lot of this book is spent on worldbuilding. And the world is interesting - it just contains a LOT of small details. This leads to some info dumping, and a lot of telling and not showing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! Sometimes you need to tell and not show, but doing it over and over again makes me lose my focus a bit. Even with all the descriptions, this wasn't super hard to read as a fantasy, but it did have a lot of names and such to keep track of.
The beginning was especially a little difficult to get through. I skimmed a few of the larger paragraphs and could still understand what was happening. Once the plot started going, I was more invested. What made this a slower read for me was the large amount of typos/awkward sentences. Besides dialogue not having a lot of descriptions outside the quotation marks, commas were awkwardly placed, sentences stopped abruptly and didn't flow with each other, and there were question marks at the end of sentences that weren't even questions. There were also sentences that SHOULD be just one sentence but were instead awkwardly split into two. In short, the book needed a bit more editing, which I hope the most recent edition achieved. I imagine it would take a while to sift through this book, simply because it's so long.
I liked how one of the main characters, Ellaria, is in her 50s. We don't get to see older protagonists that often, especially in a fantasy. I did find her POV to be the least interesting to me for half the book, and I especially liked Kovan.
The plot itself was interesting, and as someone who likes adult fantasy, it had its merits. The journey there was what slowed me down, and I felt some of it lag towards the middle. If you like detailed fantasy, this book will be for you.
February 22, 2022
The Binding Tempest is the first book in Steven Ruby’s Luminance Saga series. This epic fantasy novel combines fantasy with steampunk scifi to create a novel that will be intriguing to the end.
It’s been 40 years since the Sagean Empire ruled and was brought to its knees in defeat. But a new power is stirring and seeking the old powers once again. Ellaira will be the first to see the stirrings of danger to come, but soon many others will come to understand just how dangerous the world is about to become.
The Binding Tempest piques my interest with the prologue, but shortly thereafter the story rapidly slows down. It’s a bit sluggish for my liking, but there are moments in the beginning that the story gets really interesting with the introduction of various characters. The storyline gradually builds, and piece by piece the author pulls me further into it so that I’m eager to learn more. Once the groundwork has been set the story really becomes engaging.
I love the attention to detail throughout this book. There are moments of where it’s a bit much, in my opinion, but it serves it’s purpose. I also love the maps as the locations shift throughout the story. I also like how they are utilized in a more focused perspective at the beginning of each chapter. So you not only know who the chapter is focusing on, but also their specific location.
This book has lots of drama, danger, and twists that you just won’t see coming. There are quite a few questions that arise throughout this story. Some get answered, but quite a few are left unanswered. I’m hopeful that book two will answer at least a few. For those who hate cliffhangers, this book doesn’t have one. At least, not in my opinion. The epilogue will leave you with quite a few questions though. I’m choosing to rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
It’s been 40 years since the Sagean Empire ruled and was brought to its knees in defeat. But a new power is stirring and seeking the old powers once again. Ellaira will be the first to see the stirrings of danger to come, but soon many others will come to understand just how dangerous the world is about to become.
The Binding Tempest piques my interest with the prologue, but shortly thereafter the story rapidly slows down. It’s a bit sluggish for my liking, but there are moments in the beginning that the story gets really interesting with the introduction of various characters. The storyline gradually builds, and piece by piece the author pulls me further into it so that I’m eager to learn more. Once the groundwork has been set the story really becomes engaging.
I love the attention to detail throughout this book. There are moments of where it’s a bit much, in my opinion, but it serves it’s purpose. I also love the maps as the locations shift throughout the story. I also like how they are utilized in a more focused perspective at the beginning of each chapter. So you not only know who the chapter is focusing on, but also their specific location.
This book has lots of drama, danger, and twists that you just won’t see coming. There are quite a few questions that arise throughout this story. Some get answered, but quite a few are left unanswered. I’m hopeful that book two will answer at least a few. For those who hate cliffhangers, this book doesn’t have one. At least, not in my opinion. The epilogue will leave you with quite a few questions though. I’m choosing to rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.
June 24, 2021
In a word, “Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?” “Too much, Aragorn, too much.”
High-fantasy, steampunk, a band of ragtag war veterans and gifted newbies joining forces to take down the new dark lord. . . I wanted to love this book.
First off, if you like super intricate world-building, this is for you. This world is extremely detailed, and I adored all the maps and how the story jumped through all these fascinating different countries. Another thing I loved was how each new POV character was introduced in the previous character’s chapter—either by a quick sentence, or a cameo, or something similar. It added a fun moment of recognition when you finally get to your chapter and go “OOOOH that’s the chick with the secret message!”
What did me in for this book was all the telling. On one page we’re introduced to a new POV, and then we get pages and pages of their thoughts/past/ponderings, before we’ve even seen them in action or interact with anyone, or start to care about them. Repeat in every chapter with a new character for the first ~7 chapters. It was the quicksand that the story so tragically got stuck in, so to speak.
In sum, The Binding Tempest needed an Inigo Montoya moment of “Lemme explain. *pause* No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” We could’ve really used some Cliffsnotes—with the character introductions and the very complex world-building.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book!
-Ande
High-fantasy, steampunk, a band of ragtag war veterans and gifted newbies joining forces to take down the new dark lord. . . I wanted to love this book.
First off, if you like super intricate world-building, this is for you. This world is extremely detailed, and I adored all the maps and how the story jumped through all these fascinating different countries. Another thing I loved was how each new POV character was introduced in the previous character’s chapter—either by a quick sentence, or a cameo, or something similar. It added a fun moment of recognition when you finally get to your chapter and go “OOOOH that’s the chick with the secret message!”
What did me in for this book was all the telling. On one page we’re introduced to a new POV, and then we get pages and pages of their thoughts/past/ponderings, before we’ve even seen them in action or interact with anyone, or start to care about them. Repeat in every chapter with a new character for the first ~7 chapters. It was the quicksand that the story so tragically got stuck in, so to speak.
In sum, The Binding Tempest needed an Inigo Montoya moment of “Lemme explain. *pause* No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” We could’ve really used some Cliffsnotes—with the character introductions and the very complex world-building.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book!
-Ande
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October 11, 2021This book has SO much potential, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to that. It read like a first draft before the author had gone back to edit or revise, and that made it VERY difficult to read.
A major strength was the worldbuilding--unique, intriguing, with just enough details given to make me want to see how the history hinted at the beginning tied into the rest of the characters' storylines. However, there were so many POV characters, introduced one right after another, that honestly, I couldn't keep them all straight. They all sounded the same, which didn't help, and the dialogue.....Oh, the dialogue. It was painful to read at times, so much so that I couldn't make myself finish the book. Around chapter 17, I gave up. Between the repetitive nature of the characters' conversations and the dragging descriptions of every...single...thing, I couldn't stay engaged.
Which was disappointing, because the actual story felt really interesting--I just got bogged down in how tedious the dialgoue and excessive description were, and it took me right out of the story world so often that it wasn't worth it to me to continue reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
A major strength was the worldbuilding--unique, intriguing, with just enough details given to make me want to see how the history hinted at the beginning tied into the rest of the characters' storylines. However, there were so many POV characters, introduced one right after another, that honestly, I couldn't keep them all straight. They all sounded the same, which didn't help, and the dialogue.....Oh, the dialogue. It was painful to read at times, so much so that I couldn't make myself finish the book. Around chapter 17, I gave up. Between the repetitive nature of the characters' conversations and the dragging descriptions of every...single...thing, I couldn't stay engaged.
Which was disappointing, because the actual story felt really interesting--I just got bogged down in how tedious the dialgoue and excessive description were, and it took me right out of the story world so often that it wasn't worth it to me to continue reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
November 2, 2023
The number of maps and details therein in fantasy novels is, imho, indicative of the amount of detailed planning of the plot by the author. And in this respect, this book did not disappoint. The maps were in colour, detailed and there were even maps of cities, reminiscent of Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. There is also a very useful glossary, again a characteristic of excellent fantasy story. The world and characters’ development were good and the plot gradually unfolded to review what happened. All the above merit high marks, five stars.
Unfortunately, I found the writing style to be unsatisfactory. There were numerous typos. One glaring one is a city spelled differently in a map than from the text. There were also many grammatical errors. These two problems beg the question whether there was any proofreading at all. In addition, there was overuse of metaphors in some sentences and overly complicated descriptions of places made it difficult and indeed frustrating to mentally picture of what is being described. So the aforementioned high score has been dragged down by the writing style. As a result, I would give this novel three stars overall.
Unfortunately, I found the writing style to be unsatisfactory. There were numerous typos. One glaring one is a city spelled differently in a map than from the text. There were also many grammatical errors. These two problems beg the question whether there was any proofreading at all. In addition, there was overuse of metaphors in some sentences and overly complicated descriptions of places made it difficult and indeed frustrating to mentally picture of what is being described. So the aforementioned high score has been dragged down by the writing style. As a result, I would give this novel three stars overall.
September 4, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!
Firstly, I wanted to say that worldbuilding here is spectacular. Rudy has done a great job of tying in steampunk, alchemy, fantasy and science-fiction. The descriptions of the world were done really well, however sometimes I think we got so lost in descriptions and worldbuilding that it sometimes detracted from the characters and the plot.
When it came to the characters, I feel we were told more than shown much about them, and as much as they were enjoyable, they didn't feel particularly distinctive in terms of their separate voices. Of course, there were also a few POVs so it was a fair number of characters to keep track of in any case.
Overall, I think this was a solid debut, though I wish we had gotten more time in the minds of the characters because I feel it was to their detriment that we were more focused on what was happening in the world around them.
Firstly, I wanted to say that worldbuilding here is spectacular. Rudy has done a great job of tying in steampunk, alchemy, fantasy and science-fiction. The descriptions of the world were done really well, however sometimes I think we got so lost in descriptions and worldbuilding that it sometimes detracted from the characters and the plot.
When it came to the characters, I feel we were told more than shown much about them, and as much as they were enjoyable, they didn't feel particularly distinctive in terms of their separate voices. Of course, there were also a few POVs so it was a fair number of characters to keep track of in any case.
Overall, I think this was a solid debut, though I wish we had gotten more time in the minds of the characters because I feel it was to their detriment that we were more focused on what was happening in the world around them.
September 30, 2021
*Copy provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
2.5*
The Binding Tempest is not a bad book. It is the beginning of an epic steampunk fantasy series, and it delivers on politics, machinery, and other pleasantries.
However, this is not enough for a great first book. Yes, it is enjoyable, and I like the characters and some of the scenes, but the plot sounds a bit recycled from all of the fantasy plot points we have read through the years. It is the author’s debut novel, which says something, but I do believe it is way bigger than needed be. It was enjoyable, but also a bit tiresome at times, and I felt like it was lacking in making you feel a part of the adventure.
That said, if you do like steampunk and a nice adventure, it is a good starting point to epic fantasy, in my opinion. Its easy and I loved how in every chapter we had a map to point us to the right place.
Just maybe not completely my cup of tea.
2.5*
The Binding Tempest is not a bad book. It is the beginning of an epic steampunk fantasy series, and it delivers on politics, machinery, and other pleasantries.
However, this is not enough for a great first book. Yes, it is enjoyable, and I like the characters and some of the scenes, but the plot sounds a bit recycled from all of the fantasy plot points we have read through the years. It is the author’s debut novel, which says something, but I do believe it is way bigger than needed be. It was enjoyable, but also a bit tiresome at times, and I felt like it was lacking in making you feel a part of the adventure.
That said, if you do like steampunk and a nice adventure, it is a good starting point to epic fantasy, in my opinion. Its easy and I loved how in every chapter we had a map to point us to the right place.
Just maybe not completely my cup of tea.
February 17, 2022
The Binding Tempest by Steven Rudy is book one in a new-to-me epic fantasy saga that I will be obsessing over until the end. A blend of steakpunk and high fantasy, this blew me away.
I’m loving the older characters in this series. I feel like the majority of the fantasy I’ve read lately has been from the point of view of younger people. It was unique. Ellaria is an excellent main character. Aside from focusing on her age, she is such a well-rounded character. I really enjoyed reading about her. The rest of the cast is exceptionally well done.
Detailed world-building but still fast-paced enough to keep the reader’s attention. The information is a bit hard to keep up with in the beginning but after a few chapters, I had everything down, and was able to fully immerse myself in the story.
Overall, this is a great start to this sage. Don’t miss out.
Thank you to R&R Book Tours for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
I’m loving the older characters in this series. I feel like the majority of the fantasy I’ve read lately has been from the point of view of younger people. It was unique. Ellaria is an excellent main character. Aside from focusing on her age, she is such a well-rounded character. I really enjoyed reading about her. The rest of the cast is exceptionally well done.
Detailed world-building but still fast-paced enough to keep the reader’s attention. The information is a bit hard to keep up with in the beginning but after a few chapters, I had everything down, and was able to fully immerse myself in the story.
Overall, this is a great start to this sage. Don’t miss out.
Thank you to R&R Book Tours for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
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August 29, 2021I went into this book without many expectations and I was pleasantly surprised with it! It´s not your usual type of book, it was a very complex read to say the least. I loved following each characters´ stories before and after they eventually came together, and how they dealt with the things that happened in the book as a team. My favorite character was Ellaria, I found her fascinating and a true inspiration for myself. My favorite thing in general was definitely the world-building! It was so well-developed and I loved the map segments throughout the book, making the book feel even more visual. One thing that I didn´t like as much was the pacing. I found it very slow in the beginning and in certain parts of the book, specifically more in the middle of it. This was a very strong book as a whole and I think it has the potential for greatness! Can´t wait to read the future installments!
July 13, 2024
The book that got me out of my reading slump. Imagine three war heroes end up training their proteges, but with a twist. Tell me why the first interaction I notice is a college kid flirting with a 50 year old war hero, and it WORKED??
The premise here is that the world is recovering from a revolution and the revolutionists are alive and trying to lead society better than the old king. In comes the old faction trying to reinstate the old king and the old way.
Once again, a story with multiple POVs. Imagine the big three Marvel heroes and the next gen, but better. The world itself felt more connected than many other worlds I’ve read so far this year. Plus the pacing?? Just fast enough to keep me engaged without rushing plot and just slow enough for me to enjoy the details without the plot lagging with filler.
The premise here is that the world is recovering from a revolution and the revolutionists are alive and trying to lead society better than the old king. In comes the old faction trying to reinstate the old king and the old way.
Once again, a story with multiple POVs. Imagine the big three Marvel heroes and the next gen, but better. The world itself felt more connected than many other worlds I’ve read so far this year. Plus the pacing?? Just fast enough to keep me engaged without rushing plot and just slow enough for me to enjoy the details without the plot lagging with filler.
January 22, 2022
Leider war ich von diesem Buch total enttäuscht. Schon anfangs hatte ich meine Probleme der Geschichte zu folgen, mein English ist wirklich nicht übel, aber nach mehreren Kapiteln wollte ich schon gänzlich aufgeben da ich echt komplett überfordert war. 🙈
Die ersten Kapitel werden jeweils aus den unterschiedlichen Charakteren geschrieben. Davon gibt es allerdings echt einen ganzen Haufen. Bis diese irgendwann aufeinander treffen und es etwas einfacher wird.
Dennoch muss ich sagen das ich die Geschichte zwar zu Ende gelesen habe bis zum Schluss nicht so richtig folgen konnte.
Abgesehen davon scheint aber auch das Steam Punk Genre einfach nicht meins zu sein.
Die ersten Kapitel werden jeweils aus den unterschiedlichen Charakteren geschrieben. Davon gibt es allerdings echt einen ganzen Haufen. Bis diese irgendwann aufeinander treffen und es etwas einfacher wird.
Dennoch muss ich sagen das ich die Geschichte zwar zu Ende gelesen habe bis zum Schluss nicht so richtig folgen konnte.
Abgesehen davon scheint aber auch das Steam Punk Genre einfach nicht meins zu sein.
June 22, 2021
I liked the characters and the individual problems that each faced as they eventually united to work against the return of an ancient evil. The import and significance of the three older characters was a great deal of the charm of this book.
Wasn't as crazy about the steampunk elements inserted. The novel is derivative in many ways (except for the steampunk elements), but it is difficult to avoid using the fantasy tropes that have been so well established over the years.
The Binding Tempest: The Luminescence Saga Book One.
NetGalley/MysticHawk Press
Fantasy. June 1, 2021.
Wasn't as crazy about the steampunk elements inserted. The novel is derivative in many ways (except for the steampunk elements), but it is difficult to avoid using the fantasy tropes that have been so well established over the years.
The Binding Tempest: The Luminescence Saga Book One.
NetGalley/MysticHawk Press
Fantasy. June 1, 2021.
July 26, 2021
3.5 stars!
I enjoyed the blend of steampunk with high fantasy, although it did feel like the author fell into some cliche tropes and plot lines. It was really refreshing to have such an age-diverse cast, it’s not often you read about a 60 year old woman in fantasy kicking ass! However the writing style didn’t pull me in as much as I would have liked and it felt like it dragged along in some parts. Overall I enjoyed it but am not sure if I’ll pick up the sequel.
I enjoyed the blend of steampunk with high fantasy, although it did feel like the author fell into some cliche tropes and plot lines. It was really refreshing to have such an age-diverse cast, it’s not often you read about a 60 year old woman in fantasy kicking ass! However the writing style didn’t pull me in as much as I would have liked and it felt like it dragged along in some parts. Overall I enjoyed it but am not sure if I’ll pick up the sequel.
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