A Review of Children of the Silent One
A Tale of Two Nations... as Well as Arachnophobia
Have you wondered what it would be like if space marines fought in a world of fantasy and monsters? Ever find yourself curious as to how magic and technology might come together against a greater evil?
Those are but a few questions that’s presented within Children of the Silent One, the newest short story in James Esparza’s World Without End Lore saga. For those of you who are already familiar with Esparza’s writing, then you will likely realize that this is quite the departure from what’s come previously. Rest assured, however, that the quality of writing is still kept remarkably high. And even though there’s the occasional stumble here and there, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly during its fifty-or-so page run.
Normally when it comes to sequels like this, I’m all but used to the idea of authors going in a similar direction to their first story. After all, it is usually expected for the next one to be both “bigger” and “better” than what came before it. This isn’t to say that Children of the Silent One does away with this trope completely. However, a smaller scale is certainly brought into focus as we follow a band of Whitlonian marines and their quest to strike back against the darkness - a force consisting primarily of endless hordes of spiders.
In other words, if you are at all familiar with IPs such as Starship Troopers and Halo, then you will likely know what to expect here. And just like before, it is also completely free for you to read. So if the premise I mentioned above interests you at all, then I recommend that you check it out here on the World Without End Lore substack. The attached PDF is by-and-large the best experience for reading, as all the additional art and world setup are well-worth the price (or lack thereof).
Now on to the review proper. The narrative takes place hundreds of years after the story preceding it, with many of the previous kingdoms and nations advancing drastically in their ability to ward off the darkness. This ends up bridging quite naturally into the slightly more futuristic setting, as technology and military discipline are both focused on with particular detail here. Even so, there is still the occasional reminder that these characters are inhabiting a fantasy world.
This blending of genres becomes one of the story’s many highlights, which is especially true once the Dun are introduced as an ally. Being a faction of arcane-wielding monks themselves, the Dun really serve as a nice counterpart to the more technically advanced, gun-toting Whitlonians, given that magic is their main technique of fighting against their enemies.
At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about these two rival societies, as the Whitlonians seemed far more capable initially when compared to their rather primitive allies. However, the more I learned about the Dun and the effectiveness of their magic, the more sense it made overall when it came to the world and its balancing of various powers. I would still say that there was the odd detail which irked me, though it was still easy to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the banter between parties.
In particular, I really enjoyed Lieutenant Tanners as the stern sergeant figure, along with Master Loid who was quite entertaining throughout as the wise Dun paragon. Morris, Rodney, Garls, and Knite were also fun additions as the marines, even though only a few of them were given much more dimension in terms of character.
I wouldn’t say that that’s necessarily a criticism, as killing horrific spiders really is the focus here. And even though the occasional subplot is also explored, it’s all relatively minor stuff when compared to the threat of looming darkness along with hordes of flesh-hungry arachnids.
However, a bigger critique of mine has to do with the number of typos within the story itself. Now normally I wouldn’t call out such mistakes, as most of them can be easily ignored whilst reading. The only reason I do so in this case is that some of the slang here is easily misconstrued with these misspellings. The best examples of which are when the marines say something like “Aw Hill!” or “What the Hill, private?”, which I easily mistook as a typo until realizing that it was really a play on words.
You know, in retrospect, perhaps that one is on me.
There were also a few moments in the action that were somewhat difficult for me to comprehend. This is most likely a symptom of frequent perspective swaps being used right in the heat of battle, not to mention each side taking place in (mostly) similar situations.
Gripes aside, though, most of what’s done here is done really well. In particular, I really enjoyed the dialogue and pacing as they were both captivating along with being tightly written. The story also keeps you constantly engaged as to what might happen next, not to mention who will be next to die from the endless hordes of spiders.
In short, if you enjoy the premise of military troopers and magic monks hunting down waves of monstrosities, then this might just be the action thrill-ride for you.
You can learn more about James Esparza and his writing here on World Without End Lore.
This really sounds awesome! I hope my little promo posts helped more readers discover him and you :D