Y'all I've been reading so many good books I don't know where to start with them all.

But I don't think I've fangirled about this one to enough people yet.

So The Fourth Piper it is.

Stats:
Ongoing
High fantasy
18 chapters

This is a book of intentionality.

If you want to read a book where words twine with breaths of power to form stunning views and heart-wrenching utterances... where the tangible reflects the intangible... where names mean things and languages whisper... this is your book.

In The Fourth Piper, nothing is careless. From the very beginning, you can feel how close to the end we are. Close to the end: not in word count, but in the foreshadowing, the mood — close to the end in that the author knows it, and is laying the ground for it. Yet the reader does not know. We only know that the end is there, tantalizing, gesturing, just beyond our reach.

And we read because we long to know the answers.

Bri, the author, builds mood with sensory and visual imagery, often letting the scenery itself convey the mood — a powerful tool when used correctly, and Bri does use it correctly. A careful eye will catch how the word choice in this scene or that evokes an emotion, or reflects a prior thought. Again, it is a book of intentionality. A pure delight to read.

But perhaps I should have begun by saying that The Fourth Piper is a book of mystery, because it certainly is that. Shade, our protagonist, is a mess of mysteries, and just when you think you're starting to uncover one... TWO MORE POP UP!

Shade himself is a wonderfully rich character, built up by a masterful hand. The character development is so subtle that, again, it is for a careful eye to find, yet that is the delight of it. We are never force-fed anything about Shade. He is lovable, frightening, mysterious, and vulnerable when he least knows it.

(He is my cinnamon roll.)

But then, every character is a delight to read. Each one is so memorable and unique that confusing any of them would be inconceivable. Have you ever read a book where you love to read about characters simply for the sake of their innovative character descriptions? That is this book.

The Fourth Piper is a book to captivate the careful reader, with its hints and mysteries, its symbolic use of imagery. It is high fantasy at its best — rich in language and culture, vivid descriptions, enough action to keep the reader on his toes, and questions at every turn. The dialogue is inimitable, the character interaction and development marvelous.

I want this book to be published already. (Although unfortunately it's not yet finished XD) Go out and read it!