Chroma: One of the creatures known as Akar (essentially ogre like giants), traditionally enemies of the humans, Chroma and his mother are part of a group of Akar who split from their brethren, tired of the war, and are now refugees held in a squalid camp and mistreated by the humans. Chroma longs to be a warrior for his people, but his shy nature is often taken advantage of. Ardalan never mentioned anything about a dog or animal dying in his Foreward. He mentions only the following: disability, mental illness and abuse, and sexual content. What he doesn't say is there is rape, body gore, animal deaths, domestic abuse and violence, etc. Listen, if you're going to put triggers in your Forward, don't beat around the bush and just list them out right. Eleventh Cycle is one of the best books I read in 2022. It’s a tale about relatable characters struggling to find a place in a downright Lovecraftian world, and clashing with institutions that were built by the elder gods themselves. Institutions that are not meant to serve humanity, but whatever the elders’ strange aims are. It has been a thousand years since the last Seed abandoned their duty. The mists are closing in. Finally, the Morning Bell tolls. A new Seed is born, but is it too late? I want to give special mention to how James so respectfully adapted native American culture into his story, to the point that it even included non-binary individuals!

In terms of content, there are some graphic sex scenes that may be hard for some to swallow, and this also includes rather descriptive violent rape. There’s the usual gore that you might expect from a dark fantasy novel, but there’s also some pretty harrowing dismemberment and some body horror as well, so this book is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Dalila, Nora, Chroma, and Erefiel Numaya are the POV characters. They all feel distinct and are incredibly well written. When he wasn’t playing video games or reading novels (mostly Darren Shan and Anthony Horowitz) or trying to convince his parents to watch that R-rated movie about vampires and werewolves, he delved into fantasy worlds of his own making.

The main POVs are Dalila, Erefiel, Chroma, and Nora. These are conveyed in first person, which I thought was a bold choice (you're going to see me repeat that word a few times), but the voices of each chapter are different enough that there wasn't too much confusion (which is good, since the characters do come together and interact quite early in the story). My only complaint about the world these characters interact with (and this is a fairly minor point) is that many of the side characters have modern-sounding names, like Cassidy, and Perry. In a fantasy novel with this much thought put into the world, I would've liked to have seen older-sounding names. The first time they're mentioned, they take me out of the story a little. The bard Gallivax has a son named Dale, for example. I'm just wondering what sort of culture this is that the names follow a particular simple, if modern, style, then you get names like Gallivax and Erefiel. Anyway, I won't labor that point. It's just a minor complaint. I think my favourite part of the book is the world. Kian did an amazing job creating a word that's unique and the amount of thought that was put into the world building is stunning. There are many layers to this world and I can't wait to find out more about it in the next book. A highlight for me were the different magic systems that exist in this world. They feel distinctive yet they fit so well in the world. It's fine if English isn't the author's first language, but that only accentuates how badly this book needs professional editing by someone with a firm grasp of the language. There were incomplete sentences; words that got left in or out from previous drafts; grammar and syntax errors; plot elements thrown in with no explanation of origin or meaning, etc.In one short scene, a character referred to another character's innocence as "endearing" three times. In another paragraph, it felt as if the word "my" was being inserted at any and all costs. The narrators of this audiobook did a fantastic job with it, both were able to give their 2-4 POV characters unique voices and characterization by performance alone. Jessica Threet especially did an outstanding job, but it was A/A+ performances throughout. Kian spends the time dedicated to these characters, and exploring their trauma and how they carry it with them throughout their lives. He beautifully captures the struggles of growing into a teenager, exploring your sexuality and the struggles that can come with that.

The world building was very interesting to me. There are certainly some typical fantasy elements to make me feel comfortable but also some very unique bits brought into this story from the world. We are introduced to different regions, races, religions and over all beliefs. As I mentioned earlier this read was very different from the other I had going in parallel. Eleventh Cycle was definitely more dark and brutal. I could definitely see some parts of this world and story being difficult for others to read and enjoy. But to me it really helped paint a picture of this world and its characters and what they are going through. So this is quite the book. Truly. I’ve never read anything like it. Grimdark and bloody, but also sensitive and with character depth that is rarely achieved. It’s a book like none other. Kian Ardalan is the new prince of grimdark – and he has arrived on the scene with a bang. The hanging heads could be seen as depressed and sullen, but I preferred to see it as veneration— to me, the flower heads were bowing to us passing visitors.' We focus on five very different characters, and it’s always pleasing to see a book like this where the characters are not all human. In fact, of those five, only two are human, so this allows us to experience some of the other races of this world in more detail than we might normally be afforded.The novel opens with the perspective of a new scion of the gods, the Eleventh Seed, who is born to eliminate the 'prevailing evil' in the land (if that sounds vague, it's meant to be). I could see some people getting turned off by the "info-dumping" in this chapter. Personally, though, I think these third person Seed chapters took the form of a myth, like I was reading a passage from the Iliad about dark, secret gods. Like if Zeus looked as awful as he behaved. These third-person POV chapters are creepy and atmospheric, and they were some of my favorite chapters. They approach cosmic horror, and if you've read Thomas Ligotti or The King in Yellow, it's clear where the inspiration comes from. These chapters scaffold the story, reminding us that there are dark secrets hiding just out of sight. When difficult realities are not included in art, sometimes it’s because they make for hard reading/viewing. Is this a good thing or not? Are we ignoring issues that need fixing by not having these conversations? In my opinion, it’s not good to sweep things under the carpet, that only leads to more suffering.

Don’t go. I love you. It’s not your fault. The words refused to come as I watched *redacted* storm away.The story had some promise but was inconsistent. The homages and references were noticeable and appreciated which is where a lot of the marketing/buzz has been coming from and it is true that it does conjure some of the FromSoft Souls vibes in the world building and Berserk's presence is noticable as well. Imagine you looked up to a hero for many months, only to see that he's selective on who he wants to save. This fifth character is the Eleventh Seed, a great and powerful being born to herald the end of one cycle and the dawning of the next. The Seed is strange, because outwardly, it’s a grown being, although it does have the ability to change its appearance. Inside though, it’s very much a child, with no real idea of the world.