This book started pretty promising. The world seemed interesting, Mavrin had a unique backstory and there was a bit of a mystery. This eventually turned into a fairly adventurous "save the world" type plot with an odd group of characters. I found the plot compelling and it kept my attention. However, I never got the world building I wanted.

This world had so much promise and I get leaving a little mystery but it was just not explained enough for me. There were too many titles that weren't totally explained (for example, I'm not totally sure what a Voice is) and the whole Catalyst and Aspects thing is so vague. I know that vague big bad works for some but I'm not them. I wanted to know what these things were and how this relationship they had with people came to be. And were they the ones on the other side of these "incursions"? I just don't know and I needed to know to be fully invested. I also was originally interested in this one because of the cover and while there were some early mentions of beings (or maybe things) flying overhead, it was not a big part of the story and I would have liked to understand that better.

Despite struggling to understand the world, I still was hooked by the plot and moved through the last 50% of this one pretty quickly, wanting to know what happened.

* I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In a post apocalyptic, fractured world, the gods that kept the humans alive keep watch passing by over the livesphere they created. But when Mavrin, a travelling magician, makes the mistake of giving a young member of his audience a gift, simple, as he thought. He could have never known that it would unleash an ancient power, almost as strong as their gods. Now it is on him, and an old friend, to save the girl the power has taken. And their entire world.

I really adored the world and magic, the lore and the characters of this story
The magic was very religion-based, use of it coming in the form of "requests", which seem to be a sort of prayer asking for help, and aren't always answered.
The society in this world is inclusive, hand signs for the gender and preferences of a person being part of their introductions.

The characters had depth, especially Mavrin felt like a friend at the end of the story. Eyasu is a sweetheart with just that little touch of darkness, and I would like to adopt Aulina and Atera, they are mine now.

Towards the end of the book there were a couple of scenes that were more brutal than the rest of the book had me expecting? It wasn't unfitting or unwelcome, but unexpected

All in all, a lovely reading experience that i put off for longer than I should have.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It started pretty slow and I lost interest at first, but towards the middle it was quite a page turner. I enjoyed it more than I realized. I found the idea of aspects, the god-like beings and the energy- Raw- a very intriguing one. Especially, having a kind of magical power as a result of religious requests was an interesting idea. The characters were nice and quite fleshed-out. The worldbuilding was wonderful, even though it was pretty hard to understand at first. I think as a debut novel, the book was a success.
I recommend it to everyone who is into post-apocalyptic world with some magic.
I also posted my review in Goodreads.

Catalyst by Brandon Crilly
Release Date: 11/11/22

Centuries after the Fracture, Aelda has rebuilt itself under the protection of the the god-like Aspects. Mavrin, a traveling street magician has been running from his past for over a decade. When his former friend, Eyasu, comes to his room after a performance one night, the two become entangled in an adventure that Mavrin wants no part of and Eyasu needs. Together they must learn to have faith and trust each other so that they can take on the Raw, magical beings, in order to save Aelda.

This book does a really good job of putting you in the world of Aelda. I definitely could visualize everything that was described to me as I was reading and it truly felt magical. I also really enjoyed the characters and their stories throughout the book. The one issue I had unfortunately is a very big issue for me and it's that I felt like the ending completely got away from the author. The author spent so much time creating Breck as the villain, only to last minute switch the role to Kedar, a character who we didn't really get much information on. It just seemed very random to me and didn't work with the rest of the book. I also feel like there was so much build up to this massive confrontation with the Raw and then it just fizzled out to a very anticlimactic resolution.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atthis Arts for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Catalyst perfectly mixes together sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian fiction to create a slick and skillful novel. Crilly’s attention to detail throughout is one of the highlights of this book as no question remains unanswered - which really adds to the overall reading experience. The worldbuilding (and magic system!) was excellent, completely unique, and complex, and the characters were well fleshed out and likeable (especially protagonist Marvin.) I look forward to reading more in this series and very much recommend any fantasy lover to check out this book.

I love fantasy and dystopian fiction so a new fantasy novel with a strong dystopian theme really ticked all the boxes for me.
Aelda is a broken world, fractured in years gone by and now held together by the gods and their magic. The inhabitants survive in isolated communities growing food in glass domes and trading. However, there are also The Raw, beings made of energy who were somehow involved in the fracturing of the planet. They seem to be gathering power and becoming stronger which could destroy the fragile balance of life. The world building is brilliant and each of the different settings really comes to life.
I loved the main characters especially Mavrin and Deyeri who were once involved with each other and their new relationship is touchy to say the least. The interplay between all the characters is interesting and there is a brilliant supporting cast too including the young wind ship captain.
The story line is complex and at times, I struggled to follow what was going on but the novel does repay perseverance and it all comes together at the end. It is obviously intended to be a series but the book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger and this part of the story is well-resolved. I will certainly look out for the future books to see where Mavrin etc end up next.
Thank you to Net Galley and Atthis Arts for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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<p>Review copy provided by the publisher. Also, the author is a convention/online friend.</p>
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<p>There's an entire subgenre of books that look like fantasy on the surface but are actually science fiction when you look close. Or straddle the line: are these energy beings aliens? are they a magical race? does it matter?</p>
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<p>Brandon's book is one of those: you start with a stage magician called Mavrin, doing what is clearly stage magic. Sleight of hand. Tricks. And then things unfold: the objects Mavrin has, are they magic, are they a kind of technology he doesn't fully understand. Are they trouble: oh yes, definitely that.</p>
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<p>This is a world that humans have altered beyond recognition, and they--and others--are still learning to live with the fallout of their alterations. And as has been the case so often in history, sometimes humans have no idea what they've done. Crilly does an admirable job of showing a variety of characters with different reactions to their world and its implications, always making sure that the humans are comprehensibly human (and the aliens are consistently themselves). This was fun to read, and I'm excited to see what he does next.</p>
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I stopped reading after just over a third of the book. I found that there was too much world-building that did not add to the story and way too much on the belief system. I found the protagonists luke warm; neither likable nor dislikable. The pacing was poor with the story moving along too slowly, which is too bad because I felt that the underlying story had lots of potential. Thank you to Netgalley and Atthis Arts for the advance reader copy.

Very good writing here. Fantasy is not my go-to genre, but the details and characters kept me interested and engaged. Crilly has written quite a bit, so this being an enjoyable story was not a surprise. He has put all his talent into this one. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

Catalyst is perfect for readers who enjoy imaginative world-building and immersive fantasy/sci-fi adventure. This book is about friendship, trust, faith, secrets, and just the casual task of STOPPING THEIR WORLD GOING BAD. I was really impressed with Crilly's level of detail in the world he has created. How does this airship work, you ask? Brandon's got it covered. Really, the setting was VERY COOL, I loved the post-apocalyptic vibe- cloudless skies, Windroutes, glass domes to grow produce, god-like MONSTER THINGS, that place where you *MIGHT* fall off the edge but who knows. I loved the main characters, especially Mavrin the magician, Eyasu and Aulina. I enjoyed their witty quips and friendship. I would definitely liked to have seen more of Aulina in the book. If you're smarter than me you'll love the complex storyline though I must admit I personally got a bit lost at times. Overall this is a very good debut novel and Crilly works his magic with this genre!