Review: Shadows of a Lost Hollow by Corey Ratliff

Blurb:

By the Old Gods above and below, see us through this storm.

Standing on the precipice of an untamed land, Tharst Oralok dreams of helping forge a new kingdom for his tribe. For his beloved. And for his son. But as the horizon darkens with the approach of orcs, the fragile foundations of their new home are imperiled.

Faced with the threat of annihilation, Tharst must dig deep within himself, reigniting the warrior's flame within that has long defined his people, and lead them back into the heart of battle. Their future, their legacy, and everything they have strived to build, hangs in the balance.

Review:

For once, I am not sure how I should start this review. Mayhaps I will go into immediately saying that Ratliff has added his newest novella to the previous works of the Elmerian Chronicles with his usual grief laden characters. Or maybe I go into the fact that due to Corey Ratliff being a veteran, he has a vast amount of knowledge to pull from. Either way, this novella is another entry into an emotional series full of death, betrayal, grave triumphs and war.

Considering that, if I had to sell Corey Ratliff's novella to my friends and family under pain of a crossbow pointed to my head, I’d give them these sentences:

“Tharst Oralok is but a family dwarf, long since he has not used his axe in war, living peacefully under a new mountain. But war always comes. Care for more?”

Now, had this been all in “Shadows of a Lost Hollow”, I’d have done my job by then. But, alas, I haven’t.

So, to begin, let me start with a quick explanation of a new character introduced in “Bloods of a Withered Kingdom”, which, if you’ve read, skip this part, and if you haven’t, the introduction of this dwarf sets the stage for why this novella exists.

Gunardt is the nephew of the king, and is reminded constantly why they’re in the mountain, and that his father died when that happened. Now, Gunardt is a proud Dwarf, so he ventures outside after dealing with a conspiracy and finds a new world filled with wonder, death and magic.

To continue off of that point, Gunardts father is Tharst Orlok, a renowned warrior who helped defend his people while they were evacuating their old home under siege by the orcs. He’s, just like Gunardt, a proud dwarf, and takes the duty to protect his then newborn child very seriously. Like father, like son. When the orcs come out of nowhere to attack his home, he’s outside with his son, meaning he has to go run around to find a different entrance. Shenanigans ensue, and we learn of various things, including how Tharst died, leaving his wife to deal with both her brother and the rest of the dwarven race.

From there, let's examine the plot. It starts with an introduction to Tharst and his family, then a normal day at the beach goes horribly wrong, the dwarves stuck inside the mountain after the tunnels collapsed have face traitors in their midst, and the orcs are just pounding their way in at other locations. Shenanigans ensue, and after much swearing and much blood, the dwarven kingdom is saved, and the dwarves don’t see the light of day until the aforementioned “Bloods of a Withered Kingdom”

After that, we come to the lore of what this novella is, and where it fits in the reading order. You could read this first, and then the other prequel novella, and then the main series. Or you could read this, the main series, and then the other prequel novella. Or you could just read it by itself, with nothing hindering you from stopping there. But that’s probably not going to happen, once a Elmerian Chronicles reader, always an Elmerian Chronicles reader.

My only complaint about “Shadows of a Lost Hollow” is that it didn’t come with a tissue box. Corey Ratliff’s writing has improved over time, with this one not feeling out of place with the rest, and everything moving like it should. Just… this one definitely has more of a gut punch to it than the others, which is saying something considering what the other books swing at you.

In conclusion, if you like dwarves fighting against orcs, magic, war and tragic loss, this novella is for you. 

If you’d like to see more of the Elmerian Chronicles, the links to reviews of his other books can be found here:

Elli Breakspear's Review of "Whispers of a World Breaker"

Ariana Weldon’s Review of “Bloods of a Withering Kingdom”

My review of “Whispers of a World Breaker”

My review of “Bloods of a Withering Kingdom”

As always, thank you for reading this review, and I hope I’ve helped nudge you towards your next novella read. If not, don’t fret, there is plenty here for you to explore, with author interviews that include authors who write in the high fantasy genre all the way over to space opera, or cover reveals for very fun books. 

Wherever you are reading this, have a good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night!