Review: Soul Cage by L.R. Schulz

Blurb:

Murder Breeds Magic

All power comes with a price. In a world where magic is transferred by the act of killing another, Myddrin stands above the rest. Having accidentally killed the most powerful mage in all of existence, Myddrin now lives a peaceful life in isolation. But there is no such thing as peace in the land of Otor. War calls. The voices of the dead haunt him, and there is nowhere to hide.

Cursed with the deathly taint of magic, young Will must seek acceptance among the Knights of Aen. There, he must learn to touch the otherside, control his abilities, and decide for himself what is right, and what is wrong.

Tvora’s soul is broken. The price of vengeance was her sanity. Her companions help her keep a tenuous grasp on herself, but with the urgent need to absorb enough magic to sustain them, she is pushed to choose a side in the upcoming war. The question remains, will she choose the right one?

Review:

What I liked: 

I normally don’t talk about covers in my reviews, but I’m going to for this one. Because it’s that striking cover art which first caught my attention. It’s so vividly green, and it somehow perfectly sets reader expectations for the story contained within the book. And the cover art barely even scratches the surface of the epic, colorful (pun intended) and emotionally charged story of Soul Cage. 

Right off the bat, we follow Myddrin as he is trying to protect a bunch of children in the middle of a massive invasion. The action is kinetic, the magic overwhelming. Yet, somehow, Schulz grounds all this sensory overload with a simple straightforward narrative with emotional stakes. Without really explaining the details, we get a glimpse of the politics, the power dynamics, and the magic system in mere pages. 

This kind of juggling multiple elements within single scenes or chapters isn’t as easy, but the author masterfully handles it throughout the book. Be it Myddrin’s quest to—SPOILERS—end magic, or Will’s attempts to prove himself while dealing with the trauma of his mother’s death, or even Tvora’s soul-broken self as she navigates her wavering judgements, everything comes with layers that fit together like a thematic jigsaw puzzle. I’m tempted to reread this book only so I can see how the author has weaved his stories together with emotional and thematic threads that form a rich and complex tapestry. 

I mentioned earlier that I found the magic system thought-provoking. It’s not because of how it’s designed, but because of how Schulz uses it. Every character’s arc is deeply affected by the magic system, each in their own unique way. You gain power by killing and absorbing souls, but what could possibly be the repercussions of such a heinous act? Schulz elaborates with a novel-length philosophical discourse that remains unseen at first glimpse but becomes clear if you look at how each character behaves, how their actions affect the story and how the consequences affect them in turn. The philosophy isn’t overt and in your face, but the more you ponder over this story, the more you begin to reflect on grief, mourning, death, and beyond. All this without once compromising on the plot, character development, or world-building. 

The interweaving of plot, character and theme is probably what makes reading Soul Cage a wonderfully un-put-down-able experience. Seriously, if I had been on vacation, I would’ve devoured this book in a day or two. Every chapter runs fast, yet planting seeds that will bloom in the coming chapters. Every character moment is coupled with intriguing world-building that in turn pushes the plot forward, whose repercussions might echo in the other POVs, affecting their arcs. 

And the end, where it all comes together in an almost Sander-lanche style is the perfectly dynamic climax and satisfying conclusion to the wild ride that was Soul Cage. All the vivid image-based magic that we’ve seen being used gets stretched to its extremes comparable to the Avengers Endgame finale. 

Finally, the two epilogues. I hate cliffhangers, except when they are done right. And Schulz has nailed it. The whole book is a complete experience with a satisfying ending, which the epilogue does not hamper with its cliffhanger. The end was very subtly set up, and I did not see that coming. But, now that I know what the next book might be about, I am doubly excited to read more of this world.

What I didn’t like: 

Personally, I found Tvora’s entire arc lacking. For a soul-broken character’s POV, I had trouble justifying her actions, even from the perspective of a broken mind. I’ll admit that—SPOILER—her sudden change of heart felt real enough for such a character, her arc fell short of being as complex as the other two. In the beginning, I thought I’d end up loving her arc the most, but that wasn’t the case.

Secondly, there were a few moments in the middle-to-later-half of the book where the pacing became rocky. SPOILERS—The entire sequence in Corr felt rushed, yet somehow slow and messy. I wouldn’t mind a few extra chapters if that meant the pacing could be improved. However, that wasn’t a major issue.

Lastly, there were a few elements in the book that felt underutilized or insufficiently explored. Will & Crissali’s relationship wasn’t convincing enough despite the loose connection they shared. Same for the church’s lies among other things. I’m guessing these were intentionally underexplored to keep the pacing fast, and weren’t major issues to be true, but they did leave me feeling a tad bit unsatisfied. 

An absolutely brilliant read, and one of the rare occasions where the cliffhanger is done right! Can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

TL;DR:

WHAT I LIKED: a balanced handling of characters, plot, theme, and world-building, how everything comes together in a satisfying way, the cliffhanger in the end.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: some pacing issues, underused characters/plot elements