Ghosts of Haikimi by F. P. TWYMAN
Genres: Fantasy, Grimdark
Pages: 436
Cover: Kindle
Age rating: 16+
Buy on: Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble
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In the deserts of Ilhara, prophecy is not a gift. It is a weapon.
Hāikimi was once a soldier of the Thrennan Front. He has buried his past, his faith, and the boys he helped condemn. Exiled and fractured, he believes his punishment is already paid.
Then his daughter is born with sight that should not exist.
In Ilhara, the future is not left to mystics alone. Ancient methods of foresight treat destiny as a pattern—something to be measured, modelled, and exploited. Power belongs to those who can calculate what comes next.
Hunted for what his child might one day see, Hāikimi flees across a land divided between divine certainty and cold prediction. When he is captured by the Ishen—elite agents pursuing the architect of a historic atrocity—he is forced into an uneasy alliance that drags him back toward the machinery of war he thought he had escaped.
As prophecy tightens and belief fractures, Hāikimi must decide what he is willing to become to protect his family.
In a world where certainty is power, survival may be the greatest betrayal of all.
Characters and Plot
The first 20% of this book had me confused; there was a lot of name-dropping without elaboration, so I was lost, but over the course of the book, it got better, and I started to understand the story more. I like the writing style, even if it's a bit slow at times; it was tight-knit and atmospheric. The world-building was clearly well done; we had all of these political turmoils that you really had to pay attention to as you went on.
The plot, as I said, was slow; it doesn't really kick in until 30% way in, though. I had to say it is a unique plot. I rarely read books where the characters are middle-aged, so this is a nice change-up. I can feel the parental love from the main character, and I think it's sweet.
The emotional depth was there; however, I felt it was more tell instead of show at times, and that lesson was the impact of the character's emotions, which made the tone more repetitive. What the book did really well was writing combat scenes; I can vividly imagine the characters' action, and that is rare in a book for me; all the actions in the end got me really hooked.
Overall, I enjoy this book; it was a great read, and thank you to the author for sending me this book.