Book Review - SHE DREAMS IN BLOOD by Michael R. Fletcher


(Title: She Dreams in Blood / Author: Michael R. Fletcher / Publisher: Self-Published / Publication Date: April 16, 2021)

Book Blurb
Drawn by the shards of his obsidian heart, Khraen follows the path south.  The islands, largely ignored by the Wizard's Guild, have become a refuge for the unwanted of the world.  Necromancers and sorcerers rule warring tribes haunted by the ghosts of savage and primal gods.  

With each fragment Khraen discovers more of the man he was.

There was an Empire.

There was a god.

And she dreamed in blood.


Review
I was not prepared for how insanely Lovercraftian this next book in The Obsidian Path was going to be.  It's bloody, it's trippy, it's violent, and it's everything that you expect from a Michael R. Fletcher book and then some.  Khraen continues his journey to slowly rebuild the pieces of his former life and discover the truth of who he was before.  He knows bits and pieces but the essential memories are still scattered in different locations where he must travel to find each shard that will complete the puzzle.  The trouble is he doesn't necessarily know exactly where some of them are and the ones that he does are hidden in the worst possible places guarded by demonic and monstrous beasts straight out of an acid-induced nightmare.

I guess it should be expected though as any book that centers around necromancy isn't exactly going to be a comfort-read fantasy story.  I really enjoyed this book and found it to be somewhat of a different read from its predecessor, Black Stone Heart.  The continuation of this story is akin to a descent into madness and intense self-reflection, whereas in the former Khraen didn't know exactly who he was and was coming to grips with his missing identity as a blank slate.  SHE DREAMS IN BLOOD sees him building back his memory slowly and as a result we get a lot more insight into the person he may have been through his gradual discovery.  We also get to experience more of how Khraen feels about it all.

I still marvel at how Fletcher came up with such a brilliant concept with this series.  The idea of someone being resurrected but having no inkling of their former self may not necessarily be new, but Fletcher delivers it in such a way that it does feel that way.  The different shards that must be collected to recover full memory is so interesting and it really sets up one hell of a final book in my opinion.  The fact that Khraen also struggles with the possibility that he may not exactly have been the best person is so brilliant and it creates a tension that makes the reader hang on every word.

I think the best compliment I can give this book is that I had some really effed up dreams during the time that I was reading it.  That's how much it stayed with me.  Just be prepared to meet some of the creepiest necromantic creations you will ever come across.  If anyone has ever read The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson, that's the feeling that I got when I read some of the chapters in SHE DREAMS IN BLOOD.  

In the end I came away stupefied at how Michael R. Fletcher continues to push the envelope with the stuff that he writes.  He seems to manage to surprise me every time with the edgy concepts that make his books so entertaining to read and never the standard fantasy read.  When you read one of his books you always know that things are going to happen that you've never read in a book before.  The dark magic is always supremely dark and the world-building is top-notch in every sense.

I was blown away at where Fletcher took this story and I can't wait to see what he drums up for the next installment.  The answers are taking shape and this series should just get even better from here.  If you aren't checking out Michael R. Fletcher's books, you are missing one of the most innovative dark fantasy writers out there.  Be prepared to be wowed, shocked, appalled, thrilled, and mesmerized by his stuff.  But one thing you will never be is bored.  Another winner of a book for me and I am eagerly looking forward to the next one.  This is shaping up to be one electrifying conclusion and I am so delighted to be along for the ride.  

SHE DREAMS IN BLOOD will officially be released on April 16th, but you can preorder it now on Amazon and most bookseller websites.

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