Tag: Songs of Sefate

Oh, That Shotgun Sky

by Sarah Chorn
Series: Songs of Sefate, #1.5

Kindle Edition, 143 pg.
2021

Read: February 18, 2021

Free.

That’s such a dangerous word. Sure does look pretty sitting in the space between us like that, all glittering and gem- covered. But I can’t help but wonder how much pain is on the other side of it. After all, even diamonds cut.

What’s Oh, That Shotgun Sky About?

This novella happens in the shadow of Of Honey and Wildfires with everyone trying to come to terms with the events of the novel’s ending. The Boundary has fallen, the Shine Territory is no longer walled off from the rest of the world—access isn’t as shut off. No one knows what that means. No one is ready for this “New Normal.” All anyone is sure of is that things are different now, now’s the chance to start over.

This novella chronicles some people taking advantage of the confusion, the lack of status quo to do something else with their life. We see a grieving outlaw, a Shine Company man hunting that outlaw while he tries not to die himself, and a group of camp prostitutes (essentially prisoners) who are enjoying the freedom they now have (however temporary it may be).

Without intending to, these all come into contact with each other and offer (and receive) help in these crazy days.

Yeah, that’s vague—but it has to be. I could give all the salient plot points in one healthy paragraph if I wanted to. But you don’t read these books for the plot, or even character–you read this series for Chorn’s gorgeous prose.

Love, Grief, Fear, Confusion, and a little Hope

There’s honesty in walking through the world with open wounds. No lying about the pain that’s carving me up. No hiding the injury that’s cleaving me in two. Don’t think I’ve ever been this true.

I don’t know what to do with all I’m feeling. No one ever told me that love is an ocean. That to love, you must let yourself drown.

“There is part of me that ain’t never coming back. I gave it up willingly, you understand? I gave it all to him. That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting, too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding that beast bits of yourself.” I fix her with my eyes. Feel them punch all the way through her soul. “Listen to me and listen well: Love devours.”

(yeah, I couldn’t pick one line to illustrate this point)

While there’s not a lot of plot, and we don’t get a lot about what the various characters do or think—we get a thorough understanding of what they feel—three or four of the characters in particular, with a few others to a smaller extent. They have deep feelings, deep and raw, and those feelings reveal more to the reader than anything else they might do, say or think.

You cannot read this novella and not feel what these characters are going through—the emotions are practically tangible, and Chorn puts them so beautifully

So, what did I think about Oh, That Shotgun Sky?

It’s a special kind of torture to survive after the one holding your heart has died. It twists a soul something awful. Not a person in this world deserves this.

Okay, I had to cram one more quotation in.

I’m not crazy about the characters, the plot left something to be desired for me. But I could read sentences like that all day long and not get tired of it.

Last year, when I wrote about Of Honey and Wildfires, I said: “So, yeah, I didn’t like this as much as I wanted to. Many of you will wonder what’s wrong with me after you read it (a few of you will think I’m too generous). But I am glad I read this—it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book so carefully written as Of Honey and Wildfires…It’s raw, honest, open, and beautiful. I didn’t love it, but I commend it to you.” Switch out the titles, and I can’t think of a better way to talk about this.

(and like last year, I’m going to skip the stars for this one—they’d just distract from what I had to say—if I could decide how many to give)

Pub Day Post: Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn: Love, Family, and Loss in a Western-Flavored Fantasy

By HCNewton

On April 28, 2020

In Fiction

I have a lot of respect for those who’ve dumped the 5 Star Rating System—and I’ve often thought about it, but I’m too far into that rut to change anytime soon. But every now and then, I come across a book that I really don’t want to rate, because I don’t want the stars to distract from what I have to say. This is one of those (in case you wondered why I was blathering on up here).

Of Honey and Wildfires

by Sarah Chorn
Series: Songs of Sefate, #1.5

Kindle Edition, 3008 pg.
2020

Read: April 23-27, 2020

I will tell you this: Home is not a place. Home is an architecture of bones and a steadily thumping heart. Home is where dreams are born, and monsters are put to rest. It is where the soul can unfurl like the petals of a flower and find succor in the golden blush of each new day.

Home was my father’s arms. When I was in them, I knew nothing in the world could touch me.

This is a pretty plot-light novel, it’s more focused on what the characters experience than what happens to them—not that things don’t happen, aren’t interesting/compelling, or anything. It’s just a matter of emphasis. Anyway, here’s the blurb to get us going:

From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil.

What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.

The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all.

Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.

The primary characters are richly drawn, complex, fallible, psychologically rich. And they feel. Oh, how they feel. Chorn describes these feelings in wonderfully composed passages that get the reader to feel what they do—not to know what the character feels, or to empathize with them—but to actually feel it.

These characters tell stories about home. About family. About love. About how fleeting, how ephemeral—yet permanent and fixed—these things can be.

Cassandra, for example, is left by her father to be raised by a solid, stable, caring family. But the whole community knows who her father is, so she’s ostracized, bullied, with few who show her any kindness at all. We watch her as she ages with only rare visits from her father, slowly making (and strengthening) connections with these few.

We don’t spend as much time watching Arlen’s life, we know him instead for a few intense days. The hidden truths he confronts change him, change how he thinks about his youth, his purpose in life, and his notions of family.

For both of them—we see varying strong and defining visions of fatherhood. Fatherhood—in healthy, successful or less so–depictions is one of the hearts of the novel.

I didn’t connect with any of the characters the way I think the novel wanted me to, or much at all, really. But there were scenes, events in each of their lives that affected me greatly. There’s death, there’s loss—there’s compassion and something like hope, too.

What makes me glad I read this is the prose. Chorn’s writing wowed me last year and is just as striking here. There’s a part of me that doesn’t care what the book is about or who the characters she writes are—I want to read it. I just want to soak in her language.

So, yeah, I didn’t like this as much as I wanted to. Many of you will wonder what’s wrong with me after you read it (a few of you will think I’m too generous). But I am glad I read this—it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book so carefully written as Of Honey and Wildfires—some of the sentences, some of the scenes are the best that I’ve read since…well, since Chorn’s Seraphina’s Lament. It’s raw, honest, open and beautiful. I didn’t love it, but I commend it to you.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion, I thank her for it.