The Phantom Forest

by Liz Kerin

• ISBN10: 1947848992
• ISBN13: 9781947848993
• Publish Date: 16 July 2019
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Inkshares
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[kalventure]

✨ I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Liz Kerin about her debut novel as part of my Novel19 Class; you can read it on Reader Voracious Blog!

Friends, I loved reading this debut fantasy novel so much! The Phantom Forest has all the ingredients that I live for in a good story: rich worldbuilding with an emphasis on religion and lyrical writing that sucked me in on the first page. This is a dark, gruesome, and bloody story that won’t be for everyone so please do check the content warnings at the bottom of the review.

“In this place meant for the dead, she finally felt the weight of life, of connection, of eternity. Nothing was ever lost.”

I had so many questions while reading this book, but not in a bad way if that makes sense. The world the Kerin crafted for us is so intricately disturbing that it is like a car wreck that we cannot look away from. Who are these people? What are they being punished for? The worldbuilding is both slow and all at once as the reader is thrust into the deep end of the world but never given too much at any given time. I was hungry for more much like the Savage hungers.

The Phantom Forest is told mostly in the three alternating third-person perspectives of Seycia, Miko, and Haben, with the addition of a couple chapters from General Simeon’s perspective.

✨ Seycia is a brave and selfless nineteen year old who’s seen her fair share of heartache over the last seven years. With both her parents dead, her father killed by General Simeon during the initial occupation, she’s been taking care of her brother as best as she can. The love that she feels for Miko is palpable and I appreciate how so much of this story centers on their sibling love and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the other.

✨ Miko is full of the naivete and rigid belief of right prevailing that one can expect from a twelve year old. He’s a child who’s lost everything and everyone, who wants to take matters into his own hands. While headstrong characters who do whatever they want without thinking first typically drive me bonkers, these characteristics really endeared Miko to me and I was rooting for him. But I was also glad that he wasn’t an instant sharpshooter.

✨ Haben is a demon known as The Savage, Dhov’s messenger whose purpose is to scare humans so they continue to fear the Underworld. The book opens with his perspective and I was honestly drawn to him right away; he hasn’t retained much of his humanity since taking Dhov’s curse and his character arc is by far my favorite. I love Haben and he must be protected at all costs.

We all know that I struggle a bit with multiple POV narratives and I will admit that it took a bit of time for me to adjust. The first 20% of the book was solely told from Seycia’s and Haben’s perspectives as their paths inevitably converge, after which we have two storylines: one in the Underworld and following the family that Seycia left behind (Miko). By this point I was fully invested in Seycia and her story, so it did take some time for me to warm up to Miko’s own journey but once I did I was hooked and finished the rest of the book in one sitting.

This is an action-packed story and there is so much within its 300 pages. I felt most connected with Haben and his character development; I feel like Miko and Seycia’s arcs and stories are just getting started in comparison. I still adore them both and am incredibly invested in what happens next for them.

"Discovery of the afterlife had had irreparable consequences, so the Coalition abolished the notion of gods, fate, and prayer, worldwide. And yet, people worshiped the emperor now. Their proverb promoted the very thing they had destroyed: blind faith.”

The Phantom Forest is definitely a philosophical exploration into the afterlife, but it also explores the power dynamics of an oppressive conquering regime, the erosion of cultural practices, and the glimmer of hope at the sight of rebellion. The book takes place seven years after The Coalition came into power and religious practices were outlawed… expect in Khronasa where General Simeon kept up the annual sacrifice to the Savage ritual going as a means of control. But Simeon’s control is weakening as the status quo is challenged.

But this is also a story about love and sacrifice, about good and evil, about redemption. A thread in much of the story is whether or not a soul starts life with a tabula rasa or if a bad soul can atone in the next life. Who becomes worthy of second chances and who gets to make those decisions?

“She glanced over the edge of the boat at the misty river and swallowed a shriek as she watched a translucent hand emerge from the water to nudge the boat along.”

I really connected with Kerin’s writing style, her descriptions are so detailed and vivid that I was able to picture everything without it feeling too cumbersome. You can definitely tell that she is a storyteller and I look forward to watching her continue to hone her craft. People who struggle with purple prose and heavy imagery may have a tough time with this book, but it really worked for me.

I was left wanting to know a bit more about how the sacrifices were chosen by Simeon, his motives, and his history. We got a couple of chapters from his perspective but I didn’t find that they really added to the story in a meaningful way for me. (Although we got some crucial information by one of these chapters that explains a lot but also leaves me with some questions.) His villainy never really felt fully realized to me.

Overall, The Phantom Forest delivered on what I was expecting and I really enjoyed my time reading it (barring those rough couple of chapters)! I love stories that explore concepts of the afterlife and encourage me to wax poetic, this book weaves its own mythology so vast that it’s impressive it’s all packed into 300 pages. If you like epic adventures, redemption arcs, mythology, and vivid imagery then I encourage you to give this book a try!

CONTENT WARNINGS: (from author’s website) ritual human sacrifice, suicidal ideation, metaphors about disordered eating, brief threat of sexual violence, cannibalism, child abduction, genocide, dead parents, gun violence

Many thanks to Inkshares for sending me an ARC for my honest review! Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in final publication.

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[HekArtemis]

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book.

Some time ago humans managed to find and see into the underworld, the actual literal afterlife. This of course lead to a massive religious war that devastated the planet and the human population. It had some impact in the underworld as well. And I think that is what makes this such an interesting story. This idea would normally focus almost exclusively on the human side of things and not even consider if there was an impact on the other side. This book though takes us into the underworld and one of its denizens is a main character. We learn what some of the awful consequences were for the afterlife, as well as for the human world.

I was a little deceived as to how we saw or entered the underworld. In the first half at least once it is noted that humans no longer have the technology to see into the underworld..... But then later on we find out that the underworld was viewed through a literal hole. Sure this was somehow closed later on, but digging a hole, even with advanced machinery, is not really impossible to do with primitive tools. Just very difficult. I had hoped they meant we actually invented some device that connected with the underworld or something. Oh well.

I did feel this book was perhaps a little rushed. The characters lacked a little something, Seycia ends up in some pretty extreme circumstances and seems to just shrug them off like they are nothing, feeling no real fear or grief or anything. Her brother also seems to only note his loss but not really feel anything about it. It's like saying you're sad but not actually feeling sad. There is a difference. Haben was probably the more interesting character in this story, his background story and internal conflict over what he has done and continues to do gives us a bit more depth than the other characters seem to show.

The romance annoyed the heck out of me. Sorry, I know some people have noted the romance as being non-forced, not insta-love, makes sense, whatever. But no, this story seems to take place over a very small period of time, like a week maybe. Seycia falls in love with a demon who kidnaps her and intended to eat her, the demon manages to find his centuries old humanity by falling for this 19 year old girl.... It is practically insta-love, it's not needed because a brotherly or even fatherly love would have worked just as well for Habens humanity. Fatherly would have been better given the age differences. It doesn't make sense either. I am not really sure how watching a child-eating demon get punished with pain somehow makes him worthy of love? I don't know, I didn't feel it at all. It seemed like it was added because every story must have love.

I had a few other issues with the book as well, like how the General interacted with some people - it seemed a bit odd, and there was certainly more telling than showing. Simeon tells us that he trusts Gil implicitly. Moments later Gil tells Simeon that he should give up, apologise for all he has done and go into exile..... hmmm I am not really connecting the idea of trust and Gil right here. I am also curious how the emperor discovered Simeons secret shrine - did someone tell him? Who was it? Or was it nobody important? And why didn't he deal with it immediately?

But overall, despite what looks like a big wall of complaints, I really enjoyed this book and give it 4 stars. I look forward to future instalments, especially a sequel. This book has a good amount of darkness to it, without being grimdark, and the mythology is fascinating. I would love to learn more about the three sisters, love them. I managed to devour it in one sitting last night, so it's obviously quite easy to read, nice and approachable and not weighed down with too many issues. The background story of the world and the characters is given as we go along and is easy to understand, easy to remember, easy to understand, and easy to connect later on to moments, objects, and people.

I don't know what more to add - it's a good book, with a fascinating concept that is executed relatively well, though could be slightly improved. I will read more.

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

I don’t know what exactly I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I got. And that’s a very, very good thing. This book was utterly engrossing, drawing me into a world both stark and fascinating.

This is a book to commit to. If you are looking for a quick afternoon read, this is not that book. This book has a slow-burning plot-line that was obviously incredibly well thought out. The descriptions were so amazing, and the pictures conjured in my mind were so realistic and full of detail, I had to pause from time to time, just to let it all sink in.

It did take about five chapters for me to feel fully invested in the characters, but that was simply because there was so much that needed to be set up–and the time spent setting up the world, and the characters, as well as what motivated them- more than paid off.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve read a book that took place in any version of the underworld (Hell, Limbo, or what have you) but this was absolutely unique. I loved that Haben was as much a victim as Seycia was, only in a different way.

The characters were fascinating, the world dark and atmospheric, and the story itself went in completely unexpected directions. I highly recommend this book if you like your fantasy gritty and rich in detail.