Mistworld is like a medieval village with security that carries pike, the guards at one time had been gladiators. Mistworld is a harsh and rebel world. There are thieves, con men, agents, investigators,business and council members. There are many characters, but it is a well written story.

***I received this book in exchange for an honest review*** ( )

Mistworld is a planet under siege. The only thing preventing them falling to utter destruction at the hands of the empire is a psychic shield and some rusting, cobbled together technology. But the empire is patient and resourceful and is constantly looking at ways round Mistworld’s defences – and sometimes, one of their weapons gets through.

The inhabitants of Mistworld already have a hard time surviving on the chaotic world, with little law, few resources, bleak conditions and technology that dwindles with every harsh year, life is already a struggle. The empire’s machinations could drive them over the edge.

My first note has to be on the genre of this book. When I was emailed and asked to review this it was heavily implied that the book was dark fantasy… I had my doubts but I’ve read and liked the author before so didn’t need much convincing. It’s not an accurate genre description – this leans more sci-fi than anything else: with strong dystopian elements and a dash of the mystical in the form of psychics (or espers).

I think this book is a perfect example of “gritty”. Actual gritty – not Grimdark. So this means that we have some very real characters, they’re not perfect or shiny or super special, but they’re very human. And they’ve been put in a very hard situation, it’s not a fluffy story, it’s not a friendly world setting, life is hard and they know it and act accordingly. But it doesn’t cross the line to throwing in endless gore and rape and random horrors just to convince us how DARK AND HORRIBLE it all is.

So we have Mistworld. A world that is independent from the huge and dictatorial empire, though the empire is not very happy about the fact and does have a pretty extreme response to anyone who makes them unhappy. Mistworld maintains its independence in part by having a large number espers – people with special powers – who have flocked to Mistworld because the empire isn’t very accepting of them.

Of course, they’re under permanent blockade and Mistworld itself isn’t exactly hospital or brimming with resources and what little they have requires smugglers to bring it in; their technology is obsolete and held together with duct tape and chewing gum. This is all shown very well – there’s some telling, but it’s more their daily experiences and views, like being unable to afford to pave roads any more, to plastic being seen as an incredible luxury, to characters being unused to the glare of electric lights

This alone would create a fascinating setting, but on top of that we have a large cast of characters that are very real and very realised – all of these characters bringing extremely different viewpoint from the different structures of the society. We have the aging hero who helped build the society from its independence, we have the corrupt – but not TOO corrupt – councillor working hard to do his best (though a little lining his pocket). The on-the-edge fence who just wants to get by and all these life-or-death-the-planet-is-at-risk are a little beyond her. Or there’s the dedicated and lethal Inquisitor suffering a major identity crisis and beset with pressures of the past while still trying to do her very best in the present.

This all comes together in amazing complexity – we have some excellent class analysis that permeates the story. Those at the top of the ladder are battling over things like whether to rely on the degrading technology or more on the espers (and their own factions growing in influence consequently) and just how to marshal their resources to face the ongoing threats from the Empire. Meanwhile we have a number of other characters at the bottom rung of society who just want to survive. Sure the fate of the planet is important and all – but if they don’t have money to eat tomorrow, or they’re hunted down by their loan sharks then it doesn’t mean all that much to them in the long run. They don’t have the luxury of bigger-picture stories or the ability to be involved in them because their own straits are so pushed to the edge. At the same time, their stories are given a place and a prominence because they are personally important. With inhabitants of the city dying in droves it should seem petty to be focusing on Cyder’s ruined pub – but her life is every bit as destroy and under threat: it is vitally important to her.

That’s the gem of this book, even when covering epic battles for the whole planet, the stories are personal. We’re not just seeing the city rallying its dwindling resources against attack, we’re seeing councillor Steel do his best to try and hold things together in face of desperate odds and endless fatigue. We’re not just seeing the hunt for a dangerous person stalking the streets, we’re seeing Investigator Topaz, newly bereaved and highly conflicted inquisitor, torn between her past and so many goals – does she support the planet or pursue personal revenge, does she follow the rules or go off the rails, does she revert to the person she was, or maintain who she wants to be – and to have all those conflicts linked wonderfully.

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