I bought this book because Ian Green is from my hometown of Aberdeen and I like supporting local authors. I wasn’t sure what it would be like though so I wasn’t in any rush to read it and I had plenty of other books to keep me busy anyway.

Turns out I’m an idiot because this might be one of the strongest first books I’ve ever read.

Floré is a sergeant in the Forest Watch, protecting the land and in a sort of retirement after weathering her time in the Stormguard. When mysterious UFOs abduct her daughter she must take up her weapons again and go get her back, no matter what stands in her way.

It has a lot of similarities to David Gemmell’s books and other fantasy from that era. An older warrior, bowed but not broken, being pulled back into the fight. And it’s set in an interesting world, with subtle magic and dead gods, an evil magic storm that blights the land beneath it and other powers hidden from sight. The background lore is well presented and leaves you interested in learning more. And the plot is pretty fun. It leaves you guessing a lot of the time and by the end it’s coloured everything a lovely shade of moral grey.

There’s a good cast of characters, not just Floré and they wander about the story in a great way. Floré is my favourite though. There’s something to be said about a character who will just plough through all opposition with sheer determination, who will keep moving forward despite all injuries, within and without. The fight scenes reflect that, bloody, occasionally brutal but very entertaining.

I very much enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the sequel.