Hall of Smoke (The Four Pillars)

I have received this review copy for free. My opinions are my own.This book genuinely surprised me. In the email I got from the publisher, they marked H.M. Long as one of 2021’s most compelling new talents. I normally don’t pay much attention to such claims unless they come from bloggers and reviewers, but now having read the book, I think they were right? In all seriousness, this book was really good and I look forward to read more by H.M. Long’s hand.Hall of Smoke is a standalone adult epic fantasy with a whole bunch gods with a god-complex. It tells the story of a warrior priestess who devoted her whole life to the Goddess of War, only to have everything she knew about the world, her goddess, and all the gods in the world be crumbled to dust. The storytelling is compelling, almost poetic in some ways, and weaves the intricate and extensive worldbuilding right in with the plot without being overwhelming. At some points in the plot, if you think about the event on it’s own, it almost sounds ridiculous, but the way this book is narrated makes you just go along with what is told and believe it. It fits in the story, in the world and there is no need to question it.I spend several weeks reading this book, which is much slower than usual but external circumstances just didn’t let me read as much as usual. Other times, if a book takes me that long, I grow bored of it or end up in big slump reading wise, affecting my overall enjoyment. But with Hall of Smoke, each time I picked it up I was right back into the world and every day I was excited to hop back in, even for just a few pages. The fact that this book kept me hooked, even though my neurodivergent brain usually just moves on, if not forget, if something takes too long, shows to me that this book is written by a talented writer that knows how to keep a reader engaged.I have been thinking hard about how to describe this book, as it’s so unique and I don’t think I can properly tell you anyway as this is a book to experience. I think you will love Hall of Smoke if you enjoy stories with a big pantheon of gods and the general vibe of Norse mythology and Vikings. I also really think fans of Samantha Shannon and her Priory of the Orange Tree might love this, which has also been said by both the publisher and reviewers of this book.The world Hall of Smoke is set in is enormous and rich with lore and stories and people. It felt like Hall of Smoke only scratched the surface, even though Hessa’s story is now finished. With this in my mind I was extremely happy to hear there will be another standalone book set in this world coming early 2022, wondering where in the past, present or future of this world I will travel to when it comes out.Some books you start knowing you will love them. And sometimes you are taken by surprise. Hall of Smoke for me ticked the box of the latter. I genuinely hope that you, the reader of this review, might give Hall of Smoke a chance and enjoy Hessa’s story from start to finish and be enchanted by this beautiful debut, like me.Content warnings: Child labour (not detailed and MC is only briefly present), death, gore, grief, self-harm (blood sacrifice, only small amounts/small wounds), violence.