Fearn, the young son of a farmer, lives on the edge of a town ravaged by war, beaten down from the past. Cast out by superstitious villagers and rebuked by his own father, Fearn is one of the Asinta, derisively known as Crop Burners because of their past crimes. But all is not as it seems. When Fearn’s life takes a sudden devastating turn, he finds himself under the tutelage of another outcast–a mentor who’s more “deamhon” than man, a nightmare from one of his father’s infamous tales. As his training becomes fueled by bitter revenge, Fearn’s trust and resolve is constantly tested. He’s left to wonder…is the path he chose the right one?

CROP BURNER: The Tale Of Fearn & The Deamhon, introduces a strong fantasy world rife with danger, intrigue, immense power, and shifting alliances. There’s some familiar world building devices, but the book manages to grow its own mythology—sometimes literally. It’s an especially nice bit of storytelling that Fearn’s father is, in fact, a storyteller, so readers can learn the mythos of their world through stories passed down from generation to generation in village taverns. And the lore itself is vivid, from the creation stories of their gods to cautionary tales about greed disguised as folklore. The power of those stories themselves are just as central to the book as Fearn’s emerging supernatural abilities as an Asinta. They tug the plot into new precarious directions, ones that either help or undermine Fearn’s journey. Can they always be believed? Where do truth and fiction blur? And they give the world a very lived-in kind of feeling, so it’s easy to believe they’ve existed for centuries.

Fearn’s personal journey is both compelling and heart-wrenching. The introduction of his powers and the way they grow and change with him is really well done. The magic system is unique and vibrant and surprisingly complex, filled with limitations and pitfalls that add to the conflict. Many readers will find themselves endeared by Fearn; his unending quest just to be loved and accepted by his own father, his search for a mother figure, and the trials and betrayals he faces. That said, there’s sometimes a lack of detail about how wide the world is outside of Fearn’s immediate view. There’s vague mentions of an ongoing conflict with a neighboring country, but not enough information to flesh it out before it becomes a major battle in the plot. Compared to the attention given to Fearn’s training and growth from a young boy to a young man, the last act feels a little rushed. A dizzying turn of events comes across a bit jarring because of it, but the ending of Fearn’s journey and what he learns about himself reaches a satisfying conclusion.

CROP BURNER is a fantastic coming-of-age story layered under a brilliant mythology and a lush magic system that shows the complicated duality between good and evil.

~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader