This was simply outstanding!! It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did, it was absolutely wild! Shea was a great character to follow. I was wholly sympathetic to his situation and found that I was rooting for him verbally. Seriously, I was literally yelling, NO!, while reading this. Trust me, it was totally warranted.

The world building is really fantastic, which is saying something for a novella. Usually with a work this short the setting suffers, but that is not the case here. Everything is so easy to imagine and being that the imagery is so vibrant, you’re literally sucked into the story. Sorry, I just can’t help myself with the puns sometimes. If you read this, you’ll know what I mean! 😂🤣

I also almost cried! There is such emotion that I couldn’t help myself! There are no cliffhangers, but I find myself wishing there was a whole series of books for me to delve into. That being the case, I’ll have to just wait and see what the author comes up with next. And of course, I recommend this all the way!! Lovers of fantasy and science fiction will be into this one. Just remember to saver this because it’s a novella! It’ll go too quickly if you let it and will be more thought provoking if you take your time! Enjoy!!

I was so psyched I forgot to also say thank you so much to NetGalley, Metaphorosis Publishing, and the author for the opportunity to read this novella for my honest and unbiased opinion!!

Amazon review pending publication. Will be posted on my blog shortly.

There’s something about the novella as an art form that is so different from its bookend siblings, the novel and the short story. Not as sharp and snappy as a short story, but without as much room for deep dives into development as novels, it can be a difficult and strangely unwieldy medium, for both author and audience. That being said, novellas can also pack an incredible amount of power into a scant few pages when done correctly. It’s a medium full of both promise and pitfalls. In the case of Tower of Mud and Straw, I think that the promise is that Barsukov himself shows a lot of promise as an author, and the main pitfall is the lack of development that would have deepened the story he penned.

Tower of Mud and Straw is Barsukov’s debut solo work. He’s had multiple short stories published in genre magazines, and it’s obvious that these publications gave him a great place to practice his craft before setting out on his own. The writing is impressively tight and polished for a debut. There were places where the tone felt a bit dissonant, such as within the main character’s inner conversations with his deceased sister. But for the most part, the prose was concise without being terse, smart if not exactly snappy.

Shea Ashcroft is being sent by the Queen to oversee the construction of the gargantuan Tower she has commanded be built. He’s not sure if this is punishment or reward but, either way, he’s not happy about it. When he discovers how unstable the Tower is, and that dangerous alien tech is being used in the construction, his job becomes a lot more complicated than he anticipated. I found Shea to be an interesting character who could have been far more compelling had he been given more time to develop, but this lack made his motivations ephemeral and seemingly ever-changing to the point that he wasn’t relatable, which was a bit frustrating. As it stands with this novella, I found both characters and world building promising but ultimately unsatisfying because of the lack of any deep, meaningful development. There’s a lot of promise that could be explored, but that exploration didn’t take place within the pages of this particular book.

Barsukov’s debut novella is a very intriguing look into a world that I hope will be further explored. I couldn’t help being reminded of Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel series to begin with, as both books involve the Tower of Babel in a somewhat steampunk setting, but Barsukov was able to infuse a lot of originality into a short page count, and the two works eventually diverged in my mind. I’ll definitely be interested to see what Barsukov does next.

I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to put this book down once I picked it up. Said premonition was spot on.

This is very well written. Scratch that. This is BEAUTIFULLY written. The author's writing style and overall prose evokes deep emotion. The story engages the reader. The pace is quick but rewarding. This is legit a thought provoker. I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for a honest review.

DM

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The plot centers on our main character Shea Ashcroft, who after refusing to gas a group of protestors, is being sent to the farthest reaches of the empire to oversee the construction of an anti-airship tower. This engineering marvel is a matter of pride for the nation, and one the Queen sees as part of her lasting legacy. Shea arrives to find a mysterious (and potentially dangerous) foreign technology being used in the construction, and as a result, he must build up his own set of moral principles which will determine the fate of his career, the tower, and possibly even his life.

This book just showed me that I have been being continuously gaslit for years into believing that a novella will inevitably feel underdeveloped or lacking in some way. I was initially hesitant to pick this up BECAUSE it was classed as a novella and I was afraid I would be left wanting at the end. This was a more developed story, with an interesting plot, and great world-building than I have seen in many fully fleshed out (often 500+ page) novels.

First, as I'm sure others will mention, Barsukov is a fantastic writer. I often found myself rereading sentences simply because I liked the way they sounded. The author has a very fluid writing style without being overly wordy, giving the novella an easy, engaging flow. Some of the most beautiful sections were when Ashcroft would speak to his sister Lena in his mind. Just gorgeous prose all the way through!

As the main protagonist, Shea had an understandable moral dilemma, and it was interesting to watch his resolve waver and ultimately harden over the course of the story. His tragic backstory slowly unwinds for the reader, giving his character added depth and complexity.

The romance in the story jarred me a bit. Not because it didn't fit into the plot, but because I genuinely didn't see it coming and felt like it happened very quickly. While it felt abrupt to me, I wonder upon a reread if I would feel the same way. There are quite a few plot points in these short 200 pages so the hints leading to a romance may have slipped my notice until I was slapped in the face with it!

Overall, great story with fantastic writing that SF/F readers will enjoy. I for one will now be following the author in the hope that he writes a full on novel soon because I loved his writing style that much.

this was an enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. I look forward to more from the author.

Tower of Mud and Straw is an interesting book about Lord Shea Ashcroft and his travails from courtside to being sent away, and to return. In between, Shea comes to know love and commitment and in the end to be reunited.

The Tower of Mud and Straw is an anti-airship tower on the border that uses Drakiri technology - as it seems - for support. Along the way, Shea has to battle the townsfolk to remove the Drakiri technology, but I don’t think he understands why, at the time. Shea falls in love with Lena as one story arc, all the while he has seek out the Drakiri devices to make the tower stand and the two converge when Lena tells Shea about an ages-old legend of a “mirror tower” that they must now grapple with. Enough said about the story; you will have to read this for yourself.

Barsukov’s command of the language is excellent, as is his ability to construct characters, scenes, and their interrelationships. What disappointed me - and what I kept wanting for - was some more depth to the storyline. As I write this, I have only now come to realize that this is a serialized novella and I should not come to expect anymore as you can’t pack too much into shorts.

This was, for the most part, a quick read that marginally held my interest that was probably due to the limited development available to the author as a series of shorts in Metamorphosis magazine. For the fantasy fan, this is a good pandemic afternoon read.

I would like to thank the author, Metamorphosis Press, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I have voluntarily left this review.

Minister Shea Ashcroft had a good, successful life. If only he were a spineless careerist, he could enjoy it for a long time. And we wouldn’t read about his adventures. Refusing his queen’s order to gas a crowd of protesters got him banished to oversee the construction of the biggest anti-airship tower in history.

To make the progress and keep the tower stable, its builders use mysterious Drakiri technology. Some have no issue with it, others are afraid of it. Shea’s queen sees the tower as her legacy while Drakiri believe it’ll end the world. Shea’s assignment gets dangerous and emotionally taxing. Someone wants him dead. His love life gets complicated. Everyone around has secrets. Memories he’d rather erase hunt him. He has to travel to the origin of the species. All of that in four acts.

The characterization here is superb, with all the players distinct and well-written. The story, divided into four acts, feels complete and well thought out. Sure, fans of detailed world-building will crave more context, but we get more than enough to enjoy the story, anyway. Barsukov finds a good balance of plot and subplot and weaves a few storylines in the narrative. We learn a lot about Shea’s past, his current situation, and motivations of secondary characters without having to get through their excessive backstories. I found relationships between characters engaging, although I also found the romance lacking in the build-up and emotional truth.

The story tackles themes of discrimination, cultural differences, and destructive politics and does it with sensitivity. The narrative alternates between introspective moments, revelatory of character and place, and dramatic action and intrigue. It doesn’t strike a perfect balance, but it’s close to it. Barsukov’s prose is elegant and restrained without being fussy or lifeless. I found his action sequences suspenseful, and Shea’s introspection deep and convincing.

Tower of Mud and Straw is a fine example of a novella format - it tells a complete, well thought out story, in less than 200 pages. I wouldn’t mind learning more about Drakiri and their technology or getting more insight into cultural differences, but I’m satisfied with what I got.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yaroslav Barsukov for the advanced copy of Tower of Mud and Straw. This is a voluntary review.

Wow, this novella packed a world-building punch! Adventure, interesting history, dynamic characters, and a fantastic climax left me smiling. There is a lot of ground covered here in a short amount of time, and it is done well. Throughout Shea's journey, we witness scenes and dialogue of racism, discrimination, and cultural differences that are undercurrents of the political history. The building of the haunting, ominous tower brings these issues to a head as multiple people attempt to sabotage one another for their own gain, or for their cause.

In some ways I wish this novella was longer because I was so interested in the history and I wanted to learn more about the Drakiri. There is a magical, fantastical element at play that wraps into the world so well, but it can be shallow at times because the story is so fast-paced. Some of the characters don't have as much impact because of the length also, and I felt they could have done extremely well if they were fleshed out more. However, Barsukov's writing was beautiful. It was descriptive without being overwhelming, melodic but concise. Very easy to read and enjoy.

Overall this was a story that was easy to fall into. I am looking forward to reading more from Yaroslav Barsukov.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for this ebook copy.

Shea is sent from the city to a mammoth building project by the queen whose favour he lost when he chose to stick to his morals rather than obey her orders. They are building a massive tower that stretches to the heavens. He is forced to reevaluate his priorities over concerns about the tower that link to his difficult past.

Shea is an interesting protagonist. I found the story drifted a bit, but I caught back up. An easy read with some nice turns of phrase.

<i>Tower of Mud Straw</i> (TOMAS for short) is a short story of roughly 200 pages that is going to be published on the Metaphorosis Megazine as a serial of four “episodes” and then be collected as a whole in the month of February 2021. When I first asked for the ARC, what really captured my attention was the contract between the cover and the title. As you may see, the gargantuan tower depicted seems technologically advanced and - well - pretty solid, whereas the title sounds like a mockery of that very tower. I was intrigued by this strong opposition and the potential story it might contain, so I requested a copy.

As many other early reviews pointed out, what really impressed me from the start was the prose. Barsukov writing is lyrical without being too flowery, the rhythm of the story is perfectly carried by his smooth prose made of incisive and beautiful passages. Another thing that I really like is the characterization: the author is able to describe a character by simply making them pronounce few words. Right in the Prologue, Shae Ashcroft - the main character - presents himself as a thoughtful, compassionate yet disenchanted man, and as the story progresses it is even more easy to understand Shae personality.

For how much I liked the prose and pacing, I still can’t shake off the feeling that TOMAS was firstly a novel cut into pieces to fit the format of a short story. As a novella, TOMAS tries to do and be too many things all together to truly satisfy the reader. In the modest, insufficient amount of 200 pages, this short story tries to build up:
1. a solid main character with a tragic past to whom the reader is supposed to feel attached to;
2. a cast of side characters;
3. a romance;
4. a fictional race of people called “Drakiri”;
5. a “solve the problem or die in pain and disgrace” situation;
6. a tower of two thousand feet.

TOMAS has the potential to be an full fleshed novel, but because of its reduced length, everything but the first point is developed. The story spends too little time on too many things, as a result plot twists and revelations have way less impact than they would in a full novel. There’s no time to get attached to the characters, the plot is too busy progressing to allow it; there’s no time to dwell on what Drakiris are, there’s a tower to build. If this novella had gathered its focus on only one thing (be it the construction of the Tower, the romance, the Drakiri and the Mimic tower) the final result would have been more enjoyable.

This novella follows Shea as he is sent away from the capital to oversee the construction of a large military tower. While ensuring the tower's timely construction, Shea struggles with his fall from grace, his sister's death, and the line between his sense of duty and sense of morality. Tower of Mud and Straw tackled complex issues while keeping the reader engaged with an intriguing plot and well developed characters. While the romantic relationship between two of the characters seemed a bit weak, the rest of the characters' connections were intricate and well thought out. The world building was also impressive, explaining just enough, while also letting the reader infer and piece together elements of this fantastical world. I would recommend this novella to fans of science fiction and those who would be interested in commentary on duty and nationalism.