Book: Chasing Graves (Book One of The Chasing Graves Trilogy)
Summary: Welcome to Araxes, where getting murdered is just the start of your problems.
Meet Caltro Basalt. He’s a master locksmith, a selfish bastard, and as of his first night in Araxes, stone cold dead.
They call it the City of Countless Souls, the colossal jewel of the Arctian Empire, and all it takes to be its ruler is to own more ghosts than any other. For in Araxes, the dead do not rest in peace in the afterlife, but live on as slaves for the rich.
While Caltro struggles to survive, those around him strive for the emporer’s throne in Araxes’ cutthroat game of power. The dead gods whisper from corpses, a soulstealer seeks to make a name for himself with the help of an ancient cult, a princess plots to purge the emperor from his armoured Sanctuary, and a murderer drags a body across the desert, intent on reaching Araxes no matter the cost.
Only one thing is certain Araxes: death is just the beginning.
Review:
Setting
This book is told through multiple “POVs”. Caltro’s chapters are told through his perspective and in first person. Nilith’s, Temsa’s, Sisine’s, and all other’s are told through third person point of view. It’s easy to follow. The location of the book takes place primarily in Araxes, which is a huge and ruthless city. The only chapters that don’t take place in Araxes are Nilith’s and that’s because hers are primarily in the desert trying to get to Araxes.
Important thing to note about this work is that it is definitely grimdark. There aren’t really just good decent people. Everyone is a jerk in some way, shape, or form. Caltro, as the headlining character, is noted as selfish. He isn’t what I would call a likeable character though I did get invested in his story. So, if you are a person who wants their main characters to have a strong moral fortitude, then this is definitely not a book for you. However, if you want characters who are complex, this is the place to look for them!
Characters
As stated, these characters are not ones to have scruples. Nilith gets, to me, the closest to being a moral character and she’s dragging her dead husband through a desert with his ghost trying to enact revenge the whole time. So, you can imagine that the rest are kinda just awful. Now, I personally like them that way! It’s nice to see a story about horrid characters every once and awhile. How each of them maneuver and try to gain power is an interesting dynamic.
Caltro as the main character is interesting with his background as a locksmith. Even if at times you want him to have more of a backbone, his background kept me guessing. I want to know more about his past and I also want to know if he’s going to get out of his indenturement.
Nilith is a badass, even when she’s having trouble.
Temsa is a dick. But he’s consistent.
Sisine is a princess who’s looking at the throne. And she’s also consistent in this.
Overall, the character are not boring by any means. I will look forward to what becomes of each of them.
Plot
There are a couple of different plotlines going around. The main one is Caltro and his being enslaved when he turns into a ghost. Throughout the book he is trying to get back his freedom. Nilith is trying to get her husband’s body back to Araxes. Temsa just wants POOOOWER. Sisine, also, wants POWER but she wants the throne. Just writing them out like this, it would seem that they don’t really cross all that often but they do! I like the interweaving plotlines and how they connect.
This is definitely a book that you can’t just read the first one.
Overall
I liked this book and will be reading the others in this trilogy.
May you get lost in a book,
Chrissy
Ben Galley is an author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Victoria, Canada. Since publishing his debut The Written in 2010, Ben has released a range of award-winning fantasy novels, including the weird western Bloodrush and the epic standalone The Heart of Stone. He is also the author of the brand new Chasing Graves Trilogy.
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