Beneath A Thousand Skies

“Everyone fled weeks ago. There are rumours out of Qido, and refugees. Bad enough, it seems, for the last of the people here to pack up and leave.”

I said in my review for The Many Shades of Midnight that if Debell ever chose to play some more in this world then I would be there, and she did, and so here I am and what a delightful addition Midnight in Flaeres is to this world. As I mentioned above, while this is a prequel – telling the story of the events that kickstarted what we see unfold in the pages of the novel, it should absolutely be read after the novel. This will absolutely heighten your experience for both stories – reading the prequel with the events of The Many Shades of Midnight in your head, adds so much weight to the events that happen. But, reading the novel after the prequel could I think detract from the full impact of the book, and believe me The Many Shades of Midnight is a book that you want and NEED to experience the full force of. So yeah, prequel afterwards.

Now, we’re past that Midnight in Flaeres once again demonstrates the powerhouse author that Debell is. This is a short story, and even as we leap immediately into the unfolding events, we are given the feeling of a layered, expansive world even as we are drawn into the microcosm of the situation that the characters are currently based in. We learn about the political situation of the world, about borders and lands, that have a historical significance to the characters as well as impact on present events, without becoming bogged down in that information. Debell gives us just enough to shape the story, and to bring that feeling that if you stepped out of the character’s sight or off the pages that the world and unfolding events would continue.

Midnight in Flaeres is also a strange, but wonderful blend of origin story and part of an ongoing story. The characters – who I’ll come to a minute – are in the middle of their story, we get a feeling for their relationships and shared history, and that this was a step on their journey. But, at the same time, it is where we get to see the corruption that becomes such a threat in the novel first being noticed, investigated and experienced. It feels like Debell with all the skill of a surgeon armed with a scalpel has sliced into her world, and let us peek at the rot lurking beneath, not revealing the full depth of the corruption, but offering us a tantalising glimpse of what is to come. Setting the stage for gradual, multi-faceted exposure of that rot and the full truth that unfolds in The Many Shades of Midnight.

Characterisation is very much one of Debell’s greatest strength, and rejoining the familiar cast in this short story demonstrates that. These are the character that we spend so much time with in the novel, whose development and voices we get to witness, and Debell does a fantastic job of tying the two together. While also capturing the subtle and not so subtle differences the characters as they were at the point where they first plunge into this situation, to those we see later, shaped by these events and those that follow. I also love that we are afforded a glimpse of how Alyas had been before these events, showing the fractures that had existed before all this and how they had started to grow, and again we see it mainly through those around him. Esar was again the anchor character, both for his brother, but for the company themselves and for us as the reader.

A large part of the punch for Midnight in Flaeres also comes from the action. There was action a plenty in the novel, but perhaps because it was so central here – the flame that lit the fuse so to speak – it felt like this aspect of Debell’s writing really got to shine here, it was compelling, punchy and the stakes were very much evident. As were the consequences.

Debell has gifted us with another wonderful addition to this world, and once again demonstrated the strength of her writing and her ability to create a story that will linger long after the reading.

This story is now available in ‘In Midnight’s Shadow’ by C.M. Debell