Book Review: Starbinder by Mark Timmony

Forged in betrayal. Tempered by the stellar winds. Chosen by the stars.

For five hundred years since the Sundering, the order of the Shaluay Starbinders has been dwindling. With their Starwells lying dormant, key artefacts of their order lost and their seers driven mad by the powers that broke the world, only one hope remains to the man who leads them; a fifteen year old girl.

Born to a clan of Wanderers, Reiana has been raised by a harsh grandmother who blames her for the death of her daughter, Reiana's own mother. When bandits attack the clan's camp, Reiana leaves the safety of the caravans to pursue the abductor of her younger cousin, heedless of the dangers.

But when a creature of the Void takes notice can Reiana's own untapped abilities save her, or will the truth of a betrayal see her lost forever?

CW: suicide, gore, child abduction; allusion of child murder

GENRE: Epic Fantasy

PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Timmony was born in Sydney and grew up on the Northern Beaches. He's wanted to write for as long as he can remember and has several notebooks filled with illegible scribblings from childhood to prove it. The desire to write led to work as a bookseller and he spent almost a decade working as a genre specialist in Sydney.

You can find him at the following haunts: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter

Review & Recommended Listening

This is the action-packed prequel novella to The Blood of the Spear of The Eye of Eternity series, perfect for epic fantasy fans who like flawed heroes, fast-paced storytelling, and intricate world-building.

I've yet to read any book in The Eye of Eternity series, so this novella was a perfect introduction! We get to know Reiana, the so-called Queen of the Stars, and her tragic beginnings. I mean, Chosen Ones never have it easy, do they? Reiana certainly didn't, though things are a lot more complicated than they appear. (I also actually felt bad for her grandmother, but that's another story.)

The worldbuilding can get a little overwhelming if you're not used to epic fantasy, though. Lots of new, foreign terms are quickly introduced, and sometimes there are no explanations so you just have to take them as they are and file them for later. But what's clear is that something terrible happened five hundred years ago, and Reiana is, to put it simply, their only hope.

Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series now! If you're curious, here's the blurb for The Blood of the Spear:

Two brothers. One prophecy. A world on the brink of destruction...

Kaiel Toranth is overflowing with regret. Absent during his mother’s final days he is determined to pass the Trials and join the elite Daemon Hunters, hoping to build a safer future for himself and his brother, Darien.

For centuries, the Summoners led humanity to heights undreamt of by their star-faring forefathers. But in their pursuit of power and immortality, ten Summoners opened a gateway to the Void and fell prey to daemonic possession. The war that followed destroyed the civilization the Summoners had built, and the Sundering changed the face of the world forever.

Three thousand years later the broken continent of Athmay still bears the scars of the War of the Summoners. When an unexpected battle with a daemon reveals Kaiel and Darien's connection to a forbidden Summoner bloodline they find themselves on the run from friends and foe alike, for at the end of the war, seers foretold that the Summoners and the daemon hordes would return. And that an Empyros – the most powerful of all Summoners – would be born. If prophecy holds true, then the brothers may hold the fate of the world in their hands…

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended Listening: As I mentioned in my open call for books to review, I’ll now be adding a song to my reviews! It’ll be one that either sums up the book for me, what I’d imagine in a trailer were it a movie, something that I associate with the story or one of the characters for whatever reason… or maybe even an original inspired by it 😉

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

So cut me from the line

Dizzy, spinning endlessly

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me