We Hunt the Flame Book Review (Book One of the Sands of Arawiya Duology)

Having a debut book reviewed can sometimes be more terrifying than writing the book, so I walked into this review of We Hunt the Flame knowing I had to be gentle. And found that, for the most part, gentleness wasn’t required.

The intro is everything a reader’s heart desires and more. The mixture of parallelism (when lines partially mirror each other to emphasize the part that isn’t the same; see A Tale of Two Cities opening paragraph) and foreshadowing merged with a mysterious vagueness makes the reader both think and want to read more at the same time. This technique of foreshadowing in vagueness carries on with the flashbacks scattered throughout; readers get enticed into the story while experiencing the chance to try to figure out what happened on their own.

This does slow down the plot in the beginning, but it makes up for it by the end. The plot itself twists and shapes to fits the story’s needs; it’s action-packed but not overly so. The whole thing concludes in a way that takes the rest of the story and crumbles it into the dust in the best way possible.

The surprises are incredible, especially the ones revolving around certain characters (never underestimate the Silver Witch).

These characters, however, are something else. The relationships between unusual characters draw out the best within each one. They are relatable and life-like, yet fierce, and it’s hard not to love them.

I also really appreciate the choice of syntax in certain parts where one sentence is broken into multiple paragraphs for emphasis. Keep doing what you’re doing, Faizal!

“Love is for children, said the girl. Death is for fools, said the shadow. Darkness is my destiny, said the boy. Allegiance is my undoing, said the eagle. Suffering is our fate, said the beauty. And they were all horribly wrong.”

Recommended for anyone who’s had to take the first steps into their own unknown land filled with terrors.

-Grace Nask