Hello friend. Today’s Indie Recommends Indie post features author Chris Durston and he shares his favorite indie reads. His spotlight book, Chronicles from the World of Guilt, is a collection of short stories that begins with the end of the world. Learn more about it at the end of the post. 🙂
Chris, welcome to Armed with A Book! Please tell me and my readers about yourself!
Hello and thanks! Very happy to be here – if there’s one thing I’ve learned from making connections with other indie writers, it’s that efforts like this to lift each other up are just the best thing. A rising tide lifts all boats and that, so thank you for creating a platform all about sharing the love.
So I’m Chris (he/they) and I’m an autistic writer from England’s Westcountry, which is basically the Shire. I started writing stories when I was about six or seven, I think, and just loved it. Then I stopped for a while because… I don’t know, I think it started mattering too much to me whether it was actually any good. It’s only now, in my twenties, that I’ve come back to it, and I think I’m much happier for it. Like, I was always thinking about writing, I just wasn’t doing it. But now I am! Hurrah!
Do you primarily read indie books or big publishers books as well?
I reckon my reading is about a 60-40 split in favour of indies. There’s just so much more unique stuff to dig into, and there’s also a lot more variance in length. I’ve read a lot of indie novellas recently – I’ve got a full-time job and a one-year-old baby girl, so I’m a bit short on reading time, which means I’m much more appreciative of shorter reads these days!
The proportion of indie I read might actually be even higher, come to think of it, if you include smaller publishers and translators – Honford Star comes to mind as a publisher/translator that’s putting out really fantastic, exciting stuff you just wouldn’t see from English-language big publishers. Actually, I think indie readers should all read lots of things in translation too, ‘cos I often love similar things about them. Also, check out indie comics and role-playing games and other media! There’s a lot of great stuff going on in those scenes that would probably be considered ‘experimental’ for mainstream publishers.
Chris’s Indie Recommendations
Labours of Stone by EM Harding
Romance
Published 2021
Standalone
Day after day, Ephra Stone labours away on trashy romance novels he can’t stand for his nightmarishly pink-obsessed publisher, Halwyn Tân. Ephra’s trapped in a five-book deal from hell and it never seems to end; there’s always one more book to go, one more trope to mangle. And the worst part of it all?
Ephra himself has never been in love.
Every time he catches a whiff of romance, plans mysteriously go awry, dates suddenly have to move away, and Ephra finds himself hopelessly alone again. It’s as if the universe itself has been conspiring against his love life.
That is until, one fateful day, a little birdy leads the way … right into the arms of Ron Brook: sun-kissed god, possible millionaire, and guardian to the world’s most intelligent not-a-dog.
On paper, their relationship makes great material for Ephra’s next romance novel. At least Ephra thinks so. And for once, he’s actually enjoying his writing.
But not everyone is on board with Ephra’s new-found happiness, and Ephra might have to battle more than just some vapid publisher to keep hold of it.
I think Labours of Stone probably works at its very best if you have no idea what to expect, so popping off and having a read now before you know anything else is most likely the best way to have the best time with it. I wrote, like, a thousand-plus-word review on Goodreads that was mostly just rambling about the nature of spoilers, so that should tell you something about it.
In short, what you’re in for is on the surface a sweet queer love story between two people (and a snake) you’ll almost definitely like, and a subplot about a boss you’ll love to hate. What you’re really in for is a bit more than that, but saying any more would spoil the fun!
I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone. Fan of pastel romance? Nice. You’ll like this ‘cos it does that well. Not at all a fan of pastel romance? Sweet. You’ll like this ‘cos it upends that.
Gloria by Katherine Shaw
Thriller
Published 2021
Standalone
For all intents and purposes, Gloria Harrison has the perfect a rich husband, a beautiful home, and all the free time she needs to work on her art. And yet, she is deeply unhappy. Initially resigned to be pushed around by her snobbish, manipulative husband, Greg, she discovers a shocking truth about him she simply cannot ignore, and has to get out.
As Gloria’s world unravels around her, she has to team up with friends new and old to escape not only her husband’s clutches, but also the country, even if that means giving up everything.
Gloria must rediscover who she used to be and realise her true worth to finally free herself from Greg’s stranglehold forever, or risk losing the person she holds most dear in the world – her daughter.
I don’t read a whole lot of those very popular books with taglines like ‘a psychological thriller with a twist you won’t see coming’, but Gloria is like an indie (and thus perhaps a little less formulaic) version of that, with all the benefits of the twisty-turny narrative. It’s more interesting, I think, than many suspense/thriller stories because of its focus on its main character’s growth (sure, that happens in all good books, but something about the way it’s done here really resonates) and because of a bit of a twist that puts it into very slight speculative territory. It never becomes a sci-fi book, though; it’s more just that there’s a science-adjacent motivation that informs the antagonist’s reasons for chasing Gloria and bolsters her resolve to escape.
It’s not a long book, but I think the pacing is spot-on for keeping the tension right up while giving just enough breathing space.
Recommended for fans of the good old ‘psychological thriller’ genre looking for something with a little less focus on dropping twist after twist and a bit more interest in exploring its main character.
Perception Check by Astrid Knight
Fantasy
Published 2022
The Mages of Velmyra Saga Book One
Her favorite tabletop roleplaying game is real, and her kidnapped childhood best friend is trapped in a far off land. Will she be able to save her? Let’s roll initiative!
Violet Spence wants nothing more than to have a normal life. After witnessing her childhood best friend get abducted by monsters, that’s easier said than done. At twenty-three years old, Violet cannot seem to move past that fateful night ten years ago. Her only solace is Mages of Velmyra, a tabletop roleplaying game filled with goblins, fairies, and all-powerful magicians. But of course, that’s all fantasy.
Or, so she thought. As it turns out, the land of Velmyra is very real and the home of the monsters that took her best friend.
With the help of her friends (and the creator of the game itself), Violet must navigate the once-fictional creatures and powerful mages of Velmyra to retrieve a set of ancient relics—all in the hopes that the journey will lead her back to her friend. But for Violet, fighting monsters and magic workers doesn’t seem nearly as terrifying as confronting her own demons. And she’ll soon realize fighting the battle within herself can be just as tough as those fought against demigods.
Perception Check is the magical first installment of the Mages of Velmyra Saga, great for fans of Dungeons and Dragons, Critical Role, and The Magicians. With endearing and hilarious characters, an exploration of mental health and trauma, LGBTQ+ representation, gut-wrenching twists, and a whirlwind of an ending, you will never want to leave the world of Velmyra.
This was probably my favourite read of 2022. Perception Check is an isekai novel that reminds me more than anything else of Kieron Gillen’s DIE graphic novels: both follow a group of role-playing gamers from our Earth who find themselves inside their game, and both deal heavily with past traumas. Compared to DIE this is certainly more whimsical and perhaps less worried about developing strict mechanics and rules, which frees it up to spend more time exploring its protagonist’s journey. It’s not a huge book, but it manages to feel like the world is really enormous – both deep and broad – without getting bogged down in info-dumping or anything. Things keep moving at an exciting pace while the magnitude of the setting just sort of falls into place around it, which I think is really impressive. Plus it balances serious topics with humour really smoothly.
Recommended for fans of isekai stories, tabletop RPGs, and quippy humour.
Inspirisles by Hatchling Games
Fantasy role-playing game
Released 2021
Standalone
Experiencing visions of a mythical land throughout childhood, you are guided to a kingdom ruled by the fae. Responsible for a pact made long ago by your ancestors, Arthur & Guinevere Pendragon, you must now earn Belief and the respect of their gods to secure your ticket back home.
INSPIRISLES is a completely original all ages Tabletop RPG promoting storytelling, empathy and Deaf awareness with an emphasis on cooperation.
– Play as teens gifted extraordinary powers.
– Meet famous characters and fearsome creatures from Celtic folklore.
– Work together to heal an ailing land and restore a fractured kingdom.
– Learn British and American sign language as you cast spells, solve puzzles and battle monsters.
This project came about after running my teen Dungeons & Dragons group Hatchlings for over a year. I wanted to create something for them, something they could have a hand in building, and something I could take beyond the group to use in schools and communities as a workshop tool. Inspirisles is the result of this: a game for all ages that reflects my interest in mythology and my ongoing work with the Deaf community.
With Inspirisles, we are especially encouraging parents, educators and tabletop beginners to invest in our game. Many of us have fond memories of 80s fantasy classics such as The NeverEnding Story & Labyrinth. Inspirisles aims to capture some of that nostalgic magic and transport its older participants back to a more carefree and imaginative time.
Inspirisles features a unique system we have called Shaping. It allows participants to engage with Deaf culture and learn sign language (ASL and BSL included). It also forms the dice mechanic at the heart of the game, where our Pendragons will wield the elements to fight Disbelief (our negative force) and heal the World Tree.
Inspirisles encourages teamwork at every turn. Only by Shaping can the party overcome the tests of our game. Belief Barriers are non-combative tests where our Pendragons must think up ways their elements can solve puzzles. Disbelief Battles are combative tests, where our Pendragons must pit their elements against a dangerous opponent.
I love RPGs. I just think they’re brilliant. I love anything that tries to tell a story in an interesting way – especially when things tell stories that only work in the format they’re in – and indie role-playing games offer some of the most interesting takes on that. Inspirisles is one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of something not just tokenistically including diversity and representation but fully living it: you learn sign language through play, and it ensures everyone can take part and have fun. I think that’s so brilliantly worth supporting.
Recommended for anyone curious about what role-playing games can offer – if you only really know of Dungeons & Dragons, Inspirisles is a great look at what else is out there. There are a lot of people doing really cool things outside the standard formulae; classically, RPGs tend to be mostly about hitting people, but smaller developers are making games about exploring cultures, situations, themes, relationships, in much more intimate ways. Inspirisles is one of my absolute favourite examples of this.
Aestus: Book 1: The City by S.Z. Attwell
Sci-fi
Published 2020
Series
An underground city, built centuries ago to ride out the devastating heat. A society under attack. And a young solar engineer whose skills may be the key to saving her city…if she doesn’t get herself killed first.
When Jossey was ten, the creatures of the aboveground took her brother and left her for dead, with horrible scars. Now, years later, she’s a successful solar engineer, working to keep her underground city’s power running, but she’s never really recovered. After she saves dozens of people during a second attack, she is offered a top-secret assignment as a field Engineer with Patrol, but fear prevents her from taking it…until Patrol finds bones near where her brother disappeared.
She signs on and finds herself catapulted into a world that is far more dangerous, and requires far more of her, than she ever imagined. The creatures and the burning heat aboveground are not the only threats facing the City, and what she learns during her assignment could cost her her life: one of the greatest threats to the City may in fact lie within. With thousands of lives at stake, can she act in time?
I don’t often call things ‘unputdownable’, but it fits here. At least twice I thought ‘oh, yeah, this is gonna be a reveal and it’s gonna be unsatisfying’, only for it to be revealed much sooner than I thought in ways I didn’t expect; rather than string things out, this book keeps up the stakes and the tension, throwing revelations out early so we get to see the reactions and implications. The short length of the chapters helps, too, since you’ll almost always think ‘well, I’ll just read the next one, then’. It has spirit, it’s tightly executed, and it’s memorable for all kinds of reasons.
I also really appreciate the attention to detail in the climate fiction setting here. The implications of the ruined world are thought through, with things like the management of resources like energy and food considered and made part of the setting and the story.
Recommended for fans of sci-fi, especially climate fiction, and those who like a fast-paced, tightly woven narrative.
Chris’s Book Spotlight
Chronicles from the World of Guilt
Dark fantasy
Published 2022
What is Guilt?
Is it an enormous flying whale? Maybe an alien, come from deep space to punish us? Some call it an angel or a god, others a demon.
What nobody can deny is that it is the end.
These tales chronicle the story of the Earth in the centuries after the apocalypse: struggles for survival against twisted, horrific foes; small moments of kindness and warmth in the dark; life going on, even as the whole world changes.
These are the Chronicles from the World of Guilt.
Find the book on Goodreads and IndieStoryGeek. Buy links are here.
Fans of the New Weird – VanderMeer, Miéville, etc – might enjoy this book, as might those who don’t mind a bit of genre-mashing (here, horror meets something that might be kinda sci-fi or fantasy-ish but isn’t quite either). Those who’d rather read a novel than a bunch of short pieces will probably find things more to their tastes elsewhere, and if you aren’t a fan of the occasional graphic description of some really rather gross things happening then you might want to give it a miss!
Did you add any books to your TBR today based on this post or did you see any you have already read? Tell us in the comments!
Thanks for hanging out with us today! Connect with Chris on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Other links are in LinkTree.
If you are an indie or small press author who is an avid reader and wants to be featured, sign up using the form on the Indie Recommends Indie home page. This is a fantastic way to bring attention to fellow indie authors as well as your own book. 🙂
Banner Photo of library by Alfons Morales on Unsplash
Be First to Comment