The Red Sisters enforce their Queen’s edict in their underground city of Sivaraus. Third-born Daughter Sirana is suspect in her Noble sister’s death. Justice means little in Sivaraus, but Sirana knows there is always more than one way to follow the rules. She must learn what they are before she can bend them to survive then, if possible, to thrive.
This book was suggested to me by a friend, and while I have read my fair share of fantasy, it had been a while since I read something in the genre, so I was a *little* bit leery stepping into this one. Not because I thought it wouldn’t be good (far from it; I respect the person who recommended it to me highly), but that I wouldn’t be caught up in the story, and be sufficiently drawn in.
Nothing could be further from the reality of what happened.
No Demons But Us grabbed me in a way few novels of late have. The writing style is brisk, and most importantly, the author creates characters so fully fleshed out and intricately drawn that you are immediately pulled into their world.
What I truly LOVED about this book was the unique way it bent some standard tropes for not only the romance genre, but for fantasy too. It is one of a few books which creates a matriarchal world and does it right. The strength of the women portrayed is not just ‘male characteristics’ slapped onto characters with female names, but each one is given a personality that is not only unique to them but reads so true to a distinctly female perspective. This stands out where other fantasy books I have read have not felt as organic as this one did. It was completely refreshing and the closest I can come to comparing it to would be C.J. Cherryh’s atevi Foreigner universe.
The author built such a nuanced main heroine, and while you are cheering for her throughout the book, she is not without her faults, and that makes her an even deeper, richer character.
This is the first in what I understand is a four book series, and knowing that I worried how ‘cliff-hangery’ this book would end, and I was happy to find that it didn’t. It’s obvious that Sirana’s story has much more left to tell, but the ending of No Demons But Us did not leave you hanging. It is a full story arc complete, and a damn good one at that.
This is a must read if you enjoy fantasy with a delicious dose of all sorts of sexy goodness. Run, do not walk, and get this now.
The start of something big!
Here begins the story of Sirana, a Dark Elf as seen in Dungeons & Dragons, but these are not the Forgotten Realms and Sirana isn’t Drow.
Sex and violence abound in this story, but it is well executed and Sirana is intriguing enough that it soon becomes a part of the world in which she lives, a female-led society of family politics and subterfuge in which everyone has an agenda (or three) of their own. And it works.
This is the first in a series of approximately thirty novels, all are already written and currently being tweaked and refined for publication from their original online iterations. After this great a start I’m in for the long haul.
“History rarely speaks on sexuality, yet biology demonstrates how it sways even basic choices. Drama reveals sexuality but may still fade to black. In the Sister Seekers, the sex is the story, and connections made within will forever change Etaski’s fantasy world without cutting away.” ~A.S. Etaski
No Demons But Us is the first book in what promises to be a long series. At the time of this review there are a total of four books out in the series with a fifth due out in about a month. The author has stated that this is only a quarter of the planned books in the series.
This book introduces the main character of the series Sirana Thalluensareci (third daughter of house Thalluen). Sirana is young for a Darvin (dark elf) at only about 75 years old at the start of the story, maybe 16 in human years. She has been abused by her older sisters for years, but her oldest sister has just died in an apparent accident.
The Darvin live in an underground city. Their society is not one you would want to live in, the powerful prey on the weak, danger is around every corner, you usually cannot trust anyone and although Sirana is the daughter of one of the great houses, she still starts out her life weak.
However, she is recruited by the Red Sisters, the Queen’s secret police and enforces. If she survives the entrance exam, she will have power over most of the citizens of the city, except for higher ranking Red Sisters, which is all of them. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
The author of this series does an amazing job of world building and character development. Right from the start of the story the reader will emphasize with Sirana and her plight. She has multiple hurdles to jump over throughout the book. The other Darvin she interacts with are all three dimensional and most have multiple layers of motive for what they do about, with and to Sirana.
This series is an adult fantasy and not suitable for children. But it is a very satisfying read and I highly recommend it and the follow on books.