The Summoner's Cry

SYNOPSIS:

After a failed coup against Witch Queen Lilith, rogue Witches Lau and Adam have no choice but to flee and hide. Crushed and surrounded by enemies, the pair arrives at Latis, a peculiar island brimming with strange tales of the supernatural, where they hope to find Adam's long-lost grimoire -- their only shield against Lilith's wrath.

REVIEW

(3 STARS)

First of all, I want to thank Ana Reis, the author, for kindly sending me an ARC of hershort story. Thank you for trusting me with your words - I know it's a scary feeling to share your story with the world.

I will begin by saying that I saw a lot of improvement in Ana's writing since her last story ("O Caça Cidades"). The plot was more fluid and more action-driven; the characters didn't feel as flat, and the genre in itself was more my cup of tea (I love fantasy, as you can see by my Instagram feed).

I appreciated how Ana integrated elements of the Portuguese culture into her work since it made the story more familiar and close to my heart. Ana's writing is comforting because she writes about what she knows, mixing reality with fiction until she gets the perfect blend.

I wish, however, that she would've spent a bit more time developing the plot. There were times where I felt lost, not fully grasping the relationships between certain characters and I must admit the ending felt rushed and confusing. I'm glad the author decided to explore more of this universe and make it into a book, where maybe we'll be able to see things more clearly.

The pace was also a bit irregular: there were moments where the action developed at a pleasant rhythm, but others where it took too long for anything to happen (like Reis got lost in her own words, unsure of which path to take).

Lastly, I want to advise the reader that English is not Ana's native language so please be kind if you find any errors or misspellt words. Send her an e-mail so she can fix it instead of criticising. This was her first English short story and I sure hope it's not the last.