Chad Corrie isn’t a stranger to the fantasy genre, having secured plenty of fans with his Wizard King trilogy. His new work, the beginning of a brand new series, The Sojourners’ Saga, looks set to build on this success even more, crafting a dark and brooding opening salvo.
As the Sparrow Flies is ostensibly about a pair of protagonists – Elliott who exists as part of an army of religious zealots intent of purging the evil from the world, and Sarah, who searches for an escape from her people in the legend of a mysterious, mythical city.
As befitting stories of its kind, As the Sparrow Flies isn’t afraid to embrace the darkness of its genre – from the opening chapters, there’s bloodshed and the ritual slaughter of innocents afoot, followed swiftly by a series of brutal battles, violent conflicts, and even moments of gruesome horror, culminating in a claustrophobic battle sequence as innocents and soldiers alike try to survive a horrific bombardment of a city.
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Spectacle aside, As the Sparrow Flies is a slender effort (clocking in at barely 250 pages), with some thin characterisation as a result and an all-too-abrupt ending that does at least manage to function as a low-key cliff-hanger. It’s this that’s the only real disappointment in As the Sparrow Flies, as the book seems intent on finishing mid-stride, instead of providing the reader with even a crumb of resolution.
As the commencement of a new series, As the Sparrow Flies doesn’t reinvent the high fantasy wheel; however, it does create a suspenseful, engaging world brimming with gritty, dark potential, one that readers seeking their next hit of a grimdark tale would be remiss to pass up.
As the Sparrow Flies is out now from Dark Horse.
