Obsidian by Sarah J. Daley
Published by Angry Robot
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Crystal Magic, Action, Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Bisexual Characters, Blood Magic, Magic Users, Outlaw Characters, Witches
My Rating:
Published on: 25th January 2022
Pages: 400
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Bookshop.org UK / Waterstones
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Shade Nox is the only witch in a land of wizards – a fiend, a rogue, a wanted criminal.

Defying those who think her an abomination, Shade wears her tattoos openly and carries obsidian blades at her hips. For years, she has protected the outcast clans who wander the blighted Wastes, but the land is growing more unstable and her blades are no longer enough.

To save her people, Shade vows to raise a Veil of protection – a feat not accomplished in over a hundred years. But the magical Veils are said to belong to the Brotherhood church; if she succeeds in raising one, it will expose their lies. They swear to see her obliterated first.

Treading a dangerous path where allies can be as deceitful as enemies, and where demons lurk in the shadows, Shade chases a vision which could lead to her people’s salvation… or her own destruction.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

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A book promising a strong female character fighting for her people with magic and standing up against a church holding all the power? I certainly couldn’t say no to Obsidian by Sarah J. Daley when I read the synopsis, and as I read the book, I was drawn into a world of gemstone blades and magic that grew more enticing with every word.

Obsidian promised a daring female heroine, a revolutionary who was fighting for her people; “the only witch in a land of wizards”. It certainly delivers in all those areas. Shade Nox is a fun and interesting character, and it’s easy to see why she inspires people to follow her. She’s not just extremely powerful in blood magic, the type of magic prominent on the Island of Malavita, she stands by people, keeps her word and follows through with her promises. In short, she’s nothing like the Brotherhood, the religious church that holds the monopoly on magical veils that protect most of the land from the blight or the Capomaji, powerful bloodwizard warlords who terrorise and extort the local people.

Of course, opposing both of these powerful forces means that Shade is vulnerable without allies, and the blight is growing worse in the Wastes, the area beyond the veils, the place her family calls home. With allies of her choice and allies she has no choice but to accept, even though her instincts scream at her, Shade attempts to do something that has not been done in centuries: raise a new veil. Prepared to deal with outrage from the Brotherhood and the lust for power of the City-princes and Capomaji, Shade and her allies are willing to do whatever they need to save lives and topple the powerful hold the Brotherhood has on the island. What they find are ancient secrets and treacheries that make it difficult to know a friend from a foe.

I found Obsidian to be a fast-paced adventure with interesting characters that drew me in and kept my attention from start to finish. However, it was the magic system and world-building that shone brightest for me. As a pagan who collects crystals and gemstones, I was fascinated by the crystal blades that Daley equipped the blood wizards and witches with. To use their blood magic, obviously, they need to shed blood, and unlike other fantasy novels, their power seems to only come from shedding their own blood. Their skin is adorned with intricate magical tattoos which imbue them with faster healing, so they can open various wounds without worrying about blood loss. To open their wounds and to channel their magic, they use gemstone blades.

It is mentioned that the Brotherhood Blademasters do not “yield any stone below emerald” and that most wizards use rare and precious gems for their blades. Throughout the novel, combatants are analysed based on their blades, suggesting that the choice of gemstone is connected to the power of the wizard. Shade wields two obsidian blades, and while they are a common gemstone, they are much more powerful. She remarks that this is because it is a newer gemstone, suggesting that Daley has also taken into consideration the way gemstones are formed as well. I found the whole system fascinating, especially as Daley made sure it was a staple of Malavita society. Gemstones and their properties are ingrained in their society and their magic.

I’m not quite sure what stops me from giving Obsidian a higher rating. As I’ve mentioned, it has a brilliant magic system, solid world-building, and I enjoyed the plot. I think at the end of the day, it just did not have that “wow” factor for me. While I liked Shade, I just liked her. I felt the same about the rest of the characters. I didn’t fall in love with anyone in this book, and if I’m honest, I was a little irritated that it started to turn into a bit of a reverse-harem book. Other than a few secondary characters, Shade is the only female main character throughout the book. She is completely surrounded by men, most of whom end up adoring her (I’ll get to this in a moment), and the lack of another female character in the group makes the novel feel very unbalanced. 

By the end of the novel, three of the male characters are in love with her, and while two of those relationships make sense, one of them came out of absolutely nowhere. Shade is an openly bisexual woman, and Daley has written her as someone independent and open about her relationships. It made sense for her to sleep with one of the men in a moment of emotion, but the sudden attraction to him when she had never even given him the slightest look before? It felt like a bad bit of editing. Suddenly, she only has eyes for him; the tension that had been building since the start of the novel is completely forgotten, as is the relationship with another character. It felt very wishy-washy.

I’m not sure whether Obsidian is designed to be a stand-alone or the first book of a series. It’s not currently listed as a part of a series, and the ending could go either way, which is a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. It could have been left open on purpose, or it’s supposed to be wrapped up… and it doesn’t feel that way at all. Overall, Obsidian is a fun read and fantasy fans who love interesting magic systems will get a kick out of this one, but personally, I think it lost its way a bit towards the end.

Thank you for reading my review for Obsidian! Obsidian is out today, and you can buy it from the retailers linked in this review 🙂

What is the most interesting magic system you’ve encountered in a book? (No spoilers please!)

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