Author Q&A
Q: Do you write cosmic horror?
A: I prefer cosmic humor. The universe is scary enough without me adding to it.
Unsouled by Will Wight is a tale about Lindon. During a clan ritual, he learns that he is unsouled; he has no soul or has a soul that is too weak to perform their magic. Lindon spends the next few years trying to be “souled” so that he can fit into his clan. Then one day, he learns that danger is coming for his clan. He decides he must level-up and save his village.
I really enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t until the end that I realized why I enjoyed it. At the end of the book, Wight added bloopers. He took certain scenes and made them sillier, like having Lindon break the fourth wall. Wight also added reviews, hopefully fake, that say the book is too short. This is when I figured out why I enjoyed the book; it was familiar. Familiar as in like my books.
I did the same in my earlier books. I had a bloopers section at the end of a book. Also, I had reviews/comments about how short my book was, though those weren’t fake. Wight also uses a logo as his author photo, which is something I did for a long time. And then there’s the humor.
Although, Unsouled isn’t as funny as my stories. It caught me off guard when I saw the bloopers section. The story hadn’t been particularly funny. There were some funny parts, like people’s reactions to Lindon pulling off a feat he shouldn’t be able to (I kept picturing an over-the-top anime reaction). Lindon also commented, in his mind, about the situation around him, usually in a semi-sarcastic tone. His reactions to the over-powered beings he encountered also reminded me of anime. I could easily picture Lindon standing there shaking as drops of sweat formed on his head. How Wight formed the sentences, it made it seem like this was his goal, or close to it. The book’s wording and sentence structure made it seem like it could easily be turned into a movie or comic book.
The shorter chapters made the story feel like it was always moving forward. It didn’t have any slow parts. Each scene had something. Even when it was just people talking, there was something going on, like Elder Whisper circling Lindon like a fox circles prey. Wight did an excellent job of making Elder Whisper come off as…dangerous. The whole interaction between Lindon and Elder Whisper felt tense, like at any moment Elder Whisper would devour Lindon.
The book itself is shorter than most fantasy books; I was able to read it in about a day, and that was OK with me. It might have been “short,” but it was complete. I felt like everything that needed to be answered was answered. I felt like it ended when it was supposed to. Wight didn’t add a bunch of useless words to boost the word count.
The main characters, Lindon and Yerin, a sword-wielding girl that can help guide Lindon out of the Valley, seem to be well developed characters. Yerin doesn’t trust Lindon right away, and only in pieces as the story progresses. The banter between them is cute and engaging.
The final battle felt dramatic, but not long. It felt believable, even with the magic and anime-like fighting. Once I got to the end, I had a hard time putting the book down.
I give Unsouled a 4 out of 5. It wasn’t my favorite book, but I am planning on reading the rest in the series, and probably Wight’s other series. It was a good first book in a series. I got to know the characters and plot very quickly, but it was your usual “protagonist isn’t like everyone else so they have to prove themselves while being bullied and blocked by everyone else” type of story. However, the characters and world are interesting enough to keep you reading.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!
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📚Tails From the Omniverse: a retro-future 90s-like sci-fi fantasy for middle grade and young adult readers.
Joe Rover 
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