The author offered this novella as a freebie for signing up for his newsletter. The description sounded interesting so I signed up. The book is a quick read, only a dozen chapters. It’s a prequel to the main events of the Petra Graves Chronicles, a 10-book series, (complete if I’m not mistaken) and serves as an introduction to the character and the world.
Petra has completed her training as a powerful sorcerer and is now working on getting a job as a “Contractor” for a powerful organization called The Crown. Her application consists of fighting a powerful magic being from another dimension. If she doesn’t die, she gets the job.
As I said the book is short and only describes a single battle but it still does a really good job of introducing you to the world and the main character. The mortal world is just one of eight dimensions. The other seven are called “Hungers” and the magical force called “ether” is more powerful and plentiful the deeper you go. Creatures from the Hungers are the source of every mythology we have about monsters and cryptids such as demons, vampires, and fae and most of them seem to view humans as food or raw materials.
The Crown exists to protect humanity against the invaders from The Hungers, but even in this brief exposure to the organization there is a hint that they aren’t quite as straightforward as they claim.
The monsters are truly monstrous, and if you read this book you better have a strong stomach for grossness. Biological warfare seems to be a main strategy and it’s used in the most disgusting way possible.
Overall, I’d call this story a pretty solid preview. It’s completely focused on the main character and it’s almost all action but it’s a nice snapshot that really sets up the world-building well. I’m definitely going to be checking if the series is available from the library.