The Soul's Aspect

The Aspect, Book 1

By: Mark Holloway

Narrated by: Joel Jackson

A debut coming-of-age fantasy in the tradition of The Poppy War, The Name of The Wind, Nevernight and The Shadow of What Was Lost. A healer forced to become a killer for an empire that would grind his country to dust.

Kehlem, the sickly son of a widowed physician, has devoted his life to learning his father’s craft. Wanting to finally step out of his father’s shadow, he embarks on a project of his own, seeking out the help of Themia, the town's newly arrived Alchemist and a rare wielder of magic. But Themia has secrets of her own, secrets carried from the heart of the empire itself, secrets that would steal Kehlem away from his home and into the empire’s Academy for magic users.

The Isale Academy beckons, but can Kehlem survive the academy and its brutal regime? And if so, what would he have to become?

©2021 Mark Holloway (P)2022 Mark Holloway

Highly Underrated

Honestly, all I can say is wow.

Admittedly I did not have crazy high expectations for this book, especially since high fantasy books can be a real hit or miss for me, but nonetheless, this book was really good. I’m honestly just disappointed at how unknown and underrated it is because it has all the makings of an epic fantasy series.

The world building for this book was totally unique and yet it held its own. While the aspect stuff was somewhat confusing, the author did a great job of introducing and guiding readers through it, so the book itself never was. It also didn’t feel like some lame replication of other stories. That’s not to say that there weren’t some familiar tropes (like a bit of a “chosen one” sort of thing), but I’ve never been one to balk at characters with mysterious gifts and/or power. As a whole, I really enjoyed this story and the world it was set in.

Honestly, the only thing I wished there were a bit more of is Kehlem’s reactions to things. Given that he grew up looking to heal people, more turmoil at being assigned the task of being a weapon in the hands of the empire that’s long oppressed his people would have been warranted. That same turmoil also should have carried over more into the reality of what he may have to do given all that he came to realize at the end of the book. I’m definitely eagerly awaiting the second book, but my hope is that it will really play on the challenging position he’s been placed in. Also because I feel like Kehlem would be a more well rounded character if he had some internal hindrance rather than a mere lack of knowledge to tempered his great abilities (something like a matter conscience). That said, in spite of the fact that I really want to see Kehlem wrestle more with the path he’s been set on, it still hasn’t ruined the book for me at all.

This book is seriously worth reading, and that’s coming from someone who had little expectations coming into it.

I received an audio copy of this book from the author (via voracious readers only) in exchange for an honest review. That said, all opinions are entirely my own.

Fantastic!

Surprising and emotional driven! Souls aspect will delight and amaze!

I am going to struggle to articulate just how much I loved this book. If you liked Mark Lawrence Book of the ancestor and Justin T Calls Master of Sorrows then you are in for a treat. The twists caught me off guard and the characters pull you and and make you care.

I was invested and at times absolutely speechless with how the story unfolds. With an engaging magic/ religion hybrid with hints of a deeper world mystery Mark Has written a book that has left me flabbergasted with its conclusion.

I thought I knew how this story was gonna go. I thought I’d been there done that. I was wrong. There is clever use of found family and battle school tropes in here that while I found familiar are given a fresh coat of paint and does not disappoint.

The darker aspects of the books get dark but they blend well and do not feel out of place with the overall feel of the book.

All I can say is READ THIS BOOK!!!

Very good

The story starts off strong, becomes a little bit info dumpy in the middle, and then finishes strong with some unexpected and dark turns.

Did the other reviewers even read this?

there are good parts to this story like the magic system being more unique than most and they did great on setting up the villain(s). however the main character erratic in his behavior going from daredevil to mopping coward who will not defend himself or his friends.