Sorce has been a fun read. I've read it partly as an ebook and partly as an audiobook. The ebook has gorgeous illustrations in it, I might pick the physical copy up! The audiobook is done in a way that's pretty immersive, with different narrators, sound effects and music. My only issue was that sometimes with some accents, voice types and music in the background it was hard to understand, especially since there are some unusual words.

We follow young Sera in a sci fi/fantasy world. She is trying to unravel some of the mysteries of the world she's living in. There's some interesting technology involved, as well as an religious-like organization that controls everyone.

Overall, it was fun and fast paced, though for how much some parts were developed, others were lacking. It has also lost me a few times on the way because of the convoluted descriptions.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to an arc.

Sorce has been a fun read. I've read it partly as an ebook and partly as an audiobook. The ebook has gorgeous illustrations in it, I might pick the physical copy up! The audiobook is done in a way that's pretty immersive, with different narrators, sound effects and music. My only issue was that sometimes with some accents, voice types and music in the background it was hard to understand, especially since there are some unusual words.

We follow young Sera in a sci fi/fantasy world. She is trying to unravel some of the mysteries of the world she's living in. There's some interesting technology involved, as well as an religious-like organization that controls everyone.

Overall, it was fun and fast paced, though for how much some parts were developed, others were lacking. It has also lost me a few times on the way because of the convoluted descriptions.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for granting me access to an arc.

A intriguing beginning to a new fantasy series! While the style and story did not entirely work for me, I appreciated the beautiful illustrations and ambience the author intended to create. There's a lot to enjoy here.

Worth to start mentioning that it takes some time to get used to the way the pages are formatted. It is not something necessarily bad, it’s just different. It’s something the reader notices as soon as it opens the book.

The book tells the story of Sera and her path to combat a corrupt magical system. Without giving spoilers is difficult to talk about the story, I specially liked the growth of the characters throughout the story.

The book comes with illustrations of some scenes or characters appearing in the story. These beautiful illustrations help bring the story to life.

I’m sure adult audiences will enjoy this book as well.

This story was amazing! I loved the characters and the world, and it was very well-paced.

I adored the art all throughout the book! Each piece was absolutely gorgeous and helped me visualize the story and characters. The style of the text was also an interesting choice that at first was a bit odd to me but it didn’t bother me after the first couple of chapters!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to Charles Armstrong for allowing me to read this and review it! I ADORED IT! <3 I can’t wait to see what comes next…

Magic is just science you can’t understand, right? Sorce addresses this point of view directly, and sometimes a bit heavy handedly, but with plenty of skill to excuse the messier bits. Sera is a teen faun in an Earth where children are indoctrinated by Martians with implanted computers, OmniSync’s, in kindergarten. Her younger brother is days away from his own indoctrination when Sera learns some biting truths about the “magic” of the OmniSync. Faun’s know the woods around the town are blocked by terrifying beasts, but she knows she’ll uncover more if she leaves her home. Sorce follows Sera “as above, so below” as she journeys deep into the Earth and high off in the sky to protect her brother. She’s accompanied by her friend Enry and her shapeshifting pig-like pet Pterus.

On sharing this book with children: The author openly states on the book’s website that the more he “finds himself versed in aspects of AI, the more he’s come to accept notions of creationism”. As such, the page format is set like a Bible, immediately attention grabbing from the first page of text. The messier bits speak to this. This book is rife with Christian and occasional Greek mythos, often under-folded into the text, but maybe that’s by design? Some books like to wear their hearts on their sleeve, and as the author openly stated his lean towards textual Christian belief, maybe he outright intended this to be a primer for Christian thought. But I didn’t see that stated so blatantly anywhere until I sought that information out. This is where I find it somewhat concerning. An adult would open the book and immediately clock the Bible format, but a child likely wouldn’t. Children can be religious, of course, but they shouldn’t be forced to adhere to their parent’s beliefs. This book wraps up Christian thought in such a way one might not realize what they’re reading while they are internalizing the lessons. I.E. - the author believes in creationism and I wouldn’t be surprised if the books seek to prove that over the series. Due to the questionable background, I’m unlikely to recommend this to my friends with children, however, an adult who likes middle-grade books and enjoys religious texts would have fun with this.

Other comments: Sera’s a bit of a Mary Sue and Enry’s just kind of there mostly. Pterus seems to have been created so he could be there for the odd chance they needed a Kaiju sized beast on their side, and the plot felt encumbered by trying to explain where he was when they needed him to be small.

-- book ISBN was not found on Goodreads so this will not be posted there, will check back at a later date post-publication and see if I can post then

This book was an interesting read. The formatting was different and the illustrations were fun. The narrator is not what you expected and I appreciated that. I don't think it was my favorite story of the year, but it was a great change of pace with the unique format.

Gorgeous & beautiful illustrations that are well integrated. This was a cute read perfect for middle grade/younger YA audience. Great worldbuilding that was clearly done. A mix of fantasy with sci-fi elements. A bit of disjointedness within the plot, but it didn't bother me too much. I really enjoyed the characters especially Sera and Enry with their little creatures coming along. The audiobook for this was also fantastic - full production!

I would like to give thanks to NetGalley and Sorce, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the ARC of this novel.

5 out of 5 stars.

This was so well written and I honestly could find hardly any faults in the publication. There was one case of a missing word, which an editor should be able to spot, since I did.

The worldbuilding of this entire novel was smooth and seemless, I found myself learning about the world of Sorce and its characters without having to ask questions. My questions were always answered and in a way that wasn't overbearing or too much information. It was good to just dive into a world and find out about as we adventured there. The plot was fantastic.

The edition I recieved as an ARC featured 32 beautifully drawn illustrations by Kira Night.

It's a story of our main character Sera who has always longed for travel and adventure. With the help of a pig-shaped Deadringer she embarks on a journey that could pull apart everything everyone knows. Who is Sera? What does she believe in and how, with her friends' support can she free her people?

The typesetting in this publication is beautiful and it made me linger over ever single page.

This is a book that takes you on a magical journey pushing the limits of science and beliefs,

Fantastic fantasy fiction for children and adults of all ages. I would highly recommend this for a classroom or bedroom bookshelf. Any library would be lucky to have a copy.

A truly magical story about a faun finding her destiny - and her strength - to save her kind from alien invaders.


I know, it sounds a little odd, but it was truly great.
A wonderfully balanced mix of fantasy and sci-fi. A highly advanced society from Mars posing as divine creatures, bestowing the fauns with magick and technology so that they won't be found out as they use them for their own gain.


I truly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were lovely, the story was exciting, even though sometimes solutions were found a little too quickly, too suddenly, and sometimes transitions between events seemed a little random, like the author didn't quite know how to get them into the next situation, so they invented some sudden happenstance that brought them further.
But honestly, I didn't mind. The rest was good enough to overlook those small faults, the lore of the world was fascinating, the creatures amazing (Pterus is baby and must be protected).
Sera is a little genius and Enry acts like a loyal dog, following her around everywhere, only having eyes for her.
And don't get me started on the illustrations
absolutely gorgeous, and always fitting, providing great additions to the story.
I loved it.


All in all a VERY enjoyable experience. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.

I enjoyed ‘sorce Book 1: Belly of the Beast’ it was a good read. I would recommend it. The illustrations are nice.

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️