Title: Warlord Arcanist
Author: Shami Stovall
Year of Publication: 2021
Series: Frith Chronicles
Series #: 6
Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.44
Goodreads Rating (Mine): 4
Synopsis: Newly established as the World Serpent Arcanist, Volke must contend with his enemies, who have also grown more powerful in the meantime as the war with Second Ascension remains exactly as deadlocked as ever.
I’ve struggled for over a year with this review so I’ll keep it short and sweet. The storyline is adequately filled with plot, and unfortunately as weighed down as ever by the writing style.
Guildmaster Eventide had given me a new room to live in. It wasn’t like what I’d had as an apprentice or a journeyman arcanist – it was one of the major rooms reserved for master arcanists.
Volke’s endless monologue, Warlord Arcanist, Shami Stovall
Which was ironic, given the fact that I had just recently bonded with Terrakona, the second world serpent. I might as well have been an apprentice all over again.
But I knew better. I wasn’t a normal arcanist anymore. I was a legendary god-arcanist, one of twelve individuals so powerful, they could alter the world. Funny how little that had changed about me.
Very little about you is funny, Volke. Very. Little. Indeed.
The first couple of chapters are pure exposition, which would have been annoying on its own. When Volke’s nonsensical internal spirals are mixed with exposition heavy dialogue, it makes me want to tear my hair out.
“You don’t have to tell them you can’t use your other powers,” Zelfree said.
Warlord Arcanist, Shami Stovall
“You want me to lie?” I snapped. “That isn’t really my thing.”
“You don’t have to lie, kid. You just don’t have to tell the complete truth.”
Absolutely no thoughts that entered the author’s mind during the writing process are filtered out, ever. And Volke, why would you assume that “you don’t have to tell them” means “lying?”
For the sake of readability, it’s honestly pretty important that the author filter these conversations during the editing process and cut to the point a lot faster.
It’s a disappointment indeed, to see such a good story fade away under the weight of an endless introspective spiral. Volke’s every thought is faithfully transcribed, and Volke has very few thoughts that can be shared without people realising that he has no internal coherence.
For example, here are two paragraphs of Volke’s internal monologue that take place less than a page apart:
I smoothed my clothing. Nothing would make me presentable in time, but I didn’t care. Queen Ladislava was in trouble, and if she wanted a pompous blowhard, she was going to have to look elsewhere. I was here to fight Cardozo and end this feud once and for all.
Warlord Arcanist, p. 532 (on my Kindle app)
“Follow me, Warlord. I will take you to see Queen Ladislava right away.”
Warlord Arcanist, p. 533 (on my Kindle app)
I glanced down at my attire. Evidence of our impromptu camping trip covered me from head to toe. Was this how I was supposed to present myself? No. I needed to be better than this.
A little bit of additional research about the author seems to imply that Frith Chronicles are a self-published series. The author and her husband have set up a publishing house through which these books are produced. While self-publishing is admirable and should be encouraged, it can also result in editorial lapses that are the result of a lack of experience. This is a problem that established publishing houses do not usually face, because they have the ability to hire experienced editors who know what to look for in terms of polishing a manuscript.
Frith Chronicles has at its heart a great story. With appropriate editorial guidance, it could turn into an impressive series – one that doesn’t interrupt the reader’s focus every five minutes with bad writing or internal incoherence.
Next in this Series: Frith Chronicles #7 – Master Arcanist
Feminist Quill 
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