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Perfect for readers who want:
- Realistic portal fantasy
- Heroes that aren’t immediately good at everything
- Danger worlds with giant man-eating (and other-creature-eating) beasts
- Adventure, humor, and an all-around chaotic time
- Roleplaying type game atmosphere turned into a book
Many thanks to TheWriteReads and the author for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I have a soft spot for portal fantasy. Mostly because I tend to watch/read a lot of Isekai and I still (not so) secretly want to find my own portal to take me to a fabulous fantasy world. Maybe not this fantasy world, where I would die in 0.2384 seconds, but still. Also, I don’t see harpies in many books, so that definitely got my attention!
Tales of Arvia is a portal fantasy series to a world where danger lurks around every corner, the beasts are big and deadly, and survival is not a guarantee. Luckily, Darin is capable (just not of fighting) and the surprises in this world are many!
The Tales of Arvia series blends adventure with character-building in a rather interesting way. It sits in this middle ground where it’s not just one adventure to another, but it’s not entirely cozy character-building scenes. It finds a happy medium, which will likely suit a variety of readers. There’s a bit of confusion with head-hopping and perspectives in the first book, but it gets easier as readers get used to the characters. There’s a definite squad that’s a pleasure to adventure with!
Harpyness is Only Skin Deep (Tales of Arvia #1)
by D.H. WillisonPublished by: Independently Published on May 1, 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Adventure
Pages: 297
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
On a world where death lurks around every corner, is friendship the strongest survival tool of all?
Darin: bored with his paper pusher existence, he accepts a questionable deal for the LARP adventure of a lifetime. A jump through a dimensional portal strands him on the mythical world of Arvia, where everything is gigantic. Except the life-expectancy of newcomers.
Rinloh: a mere ten meters tall. Life in the harpy flock has never been easy for her. Determined to become full-fledged at the upcoming human-hunt, nothing is going to stand–or fly–in her way.
A chance encounter between these two–what could possibly go wrong?
Humans consider consorting with a harpy a capital offense. Harpies consider the human citizens a tasty part of a balanced diet. Yet the two must overcome a most monstrous conspiracy as the citizens of the city begin disappearing, with a list of suspects as big as the inhabitants of Arvia.
Harpyness is Only Skin Deep blends endearing characters and whimsical fantasy adventure in a uniquely witty, charming style. Contact your neighborhood dimension broker, or download Harpyness, and jump into the world of Arvia today.
Welcome to Arvia, where your life expectation is . . . not good. And it’s not all the harpies’ faults, either, despite what you may be lead to believe.
People on Arvia tend to blame a lot of things on the harpies, but you know what? The more you get into the world, the faster you realize that they’re sort of scapegoats. Trust me, there are waaaaay more things to fear than just those giant beasts. Like, you know, other giant beasts.
Arvia is exactly what you might expect of a fantasy world. It’s inhabited by creatures straight out of legend and myth . . . and they’re every bit as fierce as you might expect. Mostly. I loved the name-drops of different creatures that I’m excited to meet more. And you do. As the story goes on and Darin ventures on more adventures, the reader also gets to see more of the world and creatures. They’re never quite what you might expect!
“Oh? You mean nagas? No, they’re pretty rare around these parts. A bit too cold for them what with their reptilian blood. There really aren’t that many dangerous plants and animals around here.”
“Oh? And a 500 kilo panther doesn’t count as dangerous?”
“You’re from another world, so I’ll let you in on a little secret. On Arvia, if the time between a creature seeing you and the time you’re in their stomach is greater than ten seconds, the creature doesn’t count as dangerous.”
Darin is an extremely relatable protagonist. His character is true to what would happen if most readers were suddenly sent to another world.
Okay, sure, on paper, it sounds fabulous. I’d agree to it in a heartbeat myself. Despite what books have taught us, though, our (very impressive, thank you very much) skills of reading, sitting, playing video games, and whatever other random things we do during the day don’t transfer very well. Or at all. Which might explain why Darin has such a hard time adjusting, what with his lack of muscles and lack of any real skill or talent.
I actually appreciated the fact that Darin didn’t enter Arvia and suddenly gain all this skill and talent. It’s very realistic, and was actually enjoyable to see him muddling through and having to use his wit and work ethic just to get by.
I thought back to my attempts to repair various vehicles on my home world. Although reasonably handy, I considered my strongest skill to be “not making things worse,” rather than “accurately estimating repair times.” Hmmm. Count the number of bolts. Take the time I think it should require to get them all undone. Add in time for dropping tools and miscellaneous cursing. Then double that number. “Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes,” I finally responded.
This first book takes a bit of time to get going, what with Darin discovering the world and figuring out how things work, but once it does, there’s a fun little mystery/adventure to be solved.
I struggled to get into this book to start with, because this first book focuses a lot on character building and world building in the beginning. However, once people start missing (and it’s Arvia, so of course people go missing), things get interesting! It’s a slow build-up, but I did enjoy the adventure at the end of this book, along with the little mystery that needed to be solved.
“It’s not the fire! I landed on something sharp, damn it.” Standing upright, I realized the sewage was only about a meter deep.
I also realized I was on fire. “Yaaak!“
“Pat it away from you!”
Sure, we’ve all heard the safety drills: stop, drop, and roll. Bla bla bla. Easy to remember. Unless you’ve been simultaneously jabbed, doused in raw sewage—and are being attacked by giant rats.
There’s some headhopping/perspective shifts that happen with no demarcation as to whose perspective we’re in, and it’s very jarring and confusing until you get used to it.
First we’re with Darin, who’s farily relatable and most assuredly human. But in the next section after a break, we’re flying. What?! Took me a little while to figure out that we’re jumping perspectives mid-chapter, especially early on, before Rinloh is properly introduced or meets Darin. Then, probably about two-thirds of the way through, a third random perspective is introduced (which I’m not sure we altogether needed) just out of nowhere, which made it all the more confusing! Once you realize what’s going on, it’s easy to slip between them, but it’s definitely jarring to start.
Finding Your Harpy Place (Tales of Arvia #2)
by D.H. WillisonPublished by: Barnes & Noble Press on November 14, 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Adventure
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Life is a journey. On Arvia, it’s a perilous one.
Darin, a human of extraordinary unimpressiveness, astounded observers by surviving his first year on the mythical world of Arvia. His training and equipment may be questionable, but at least his best friend, Rinloh, an accident-prone harpy the size of a three-story building, is willing to lend a hand. Or a wing. Yet when an ancient magic artifact leaves a trail of chaos in its wake, it’s no longer just the giant mythical monsters he has to worry about.
Rinloh, a harpy whose unbridled enthusiasm leads to the occasional sundry destruction, charges into things talons first. Her curiosity is as insatiable as her flockmate’s appetite for human flesh, yet she can’t protect Darin from them until she becomes full-fledged. Regrettably, the test is a human hunt.
A distant forest may hold answers to both quests, yet who dares venture where even harpies fear tread?
Life is a journey. Sometimes the most important journeys are within.Finding Your Harpy Place, a new adventure on Arvia, a beautiful world filled with colorful, larger-than-life characters and ravenous mythical monsters more colorful and larger still. Experience it from the safety of your favorite armchair.
Darin is back, and badder than ever! Okay, that’s not true. But he’s slightly more capable, at the very least!
As I’ve said, one of the things I appreciate most about this portal fantasy is its realism. Darin doesn’t immediately become good at . . . well, anything. Except retail, ironically, because heck, don’t we all have experience there? So it just goes to show that what little ability he’s got has been hard won. In case you’re in doubt, the reader gets to see some of Darin’s fighting ability, and it . . . isn’t pretty. But at least he’s trying!
Darin’s gotten a bit more comfortable in Arvia now, and it shows. He’s gotten his feet wet with some early adventures and is ready to take on a bit more. Where the first book started a bit slow, this one jumps in with adventure almost right from the start, and I enjoyed following Darin around more or Arvia!
Almost.
Spears just tend to lack the dramatic names that fantasy swords bear. The Pernicious Pike of Pokyness? Passable Polearm of Piercing? A pointy stick? It’s a work in progress.
There is officially a bit of a squad forming! Well, mostly. And boy did I enjoy it.
Obviously, Darin and Rinloh are still a thing, though they’re keeping it on the down low still. You know, because the consequences otherwise are not fun for either of them. But adventuring in Arvia is dangerous (duh!) and Darin isn’t exactly capable on his own, so obviously he needs some backup.
Fogmort is back from the first book, and despite his regrettable name, he’s a rather interesting character. He’s the traditional character one might expect in a portal fantasy: skilled, prepared for battle, and ready to dive headlong into this new world from the start. He’s a bit appalled that Darin isn’t, but he’s doing what he can to fix that. Bless his heart.
Kausifauss is technically Darin’s employer, but she’s along for the ride on this adventure. Mostly because she’s been stolen from, and she will not let that stand. Also, I may have worded that in a way that made Kausifauss seem very passive, and that is not at all the case. She’s a badass. Also, you do not want to cross her. Trust me on that one.
“And I . . . will make a reasonable effort to ensure that you both aren’t torn to shreds by monsters,” said Fogmort.
Just as Darin is growing in his respective role, so is Rinloh, which I enjoyed seeing!
I’ll be honest: I didn’t love Rinloh in the first book. I get that she’s meant to be a young harpy, but the way she was so infantilized was a little grating to me. We all start somewhere, though! It’s clear that Rinloh has grown a bit into herself, and is certainly more capable. As Darin is off having his own adventures, Rinloh is not only learning how to navigate the harpy social circle better, but she’s also exploring on her own and feeding her inquisitive nature. It’s fun seeing the situations she gets herself into.
“Really, you have nothing to worry about from me, I gave you my word. Besides, he’s small, even for a human. He’d hardly be more than an appetizer for me.”
How dare he insult my Darin! “You take that back! He’s lean and healthy and he’d be very tasty and nutritious.”
“Rinloh! Not helping!”
Arvia: Heart of the Sky
by D.H. WillisonPublished by: Barnes & Noble Press on May 12, 2023
Genres: Adventure
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
It takes great courage to stand against a ferocious mythic monster.
It takes far greater to stand WITH one who’s at her most vulnerable.
Tremors rock the land. Wild magic and creatures from the abyss ravage a formerly bountiful forest, while a creeping magic ailment spreads among the harpies. A fragile peace between harpy and human teeters on the brink.
Darin and Rinloh, oddest couple in all the land. They must become the oddest of heroes to save the land.
Heart of the Sky. A charming blend of whimsy, terror, and a lot of heart.
This books starts with a bang (almost literally . . . except, you know, a tremor instead) and just doesn’t let up.
It’s exactly what you’d expect from an adventure book! Right from the start, everything goes wrong. Pretty much, if it can go wrong, it does. Weird magical natural catastrophes. People going missing. Creatures acting strange. It’s bad when the higher-ups in a food chain like Arvia’s are concerned. I mean, humans, sure, there’s plenty to fear, but rest assured, others are taking notice now.
I appreciated the pace of this book. Since the series is more established now, it felt natural and exciting to just dive in with things go wrong. There are still scenes with Darin and Rinloh that I feel slow things down and are kind of a slog, especially in an adventure book, but I do feel the unique blend of adventure and slice of life in a fantasy world will appeal to certain audiences.
Stone beneath my bare feet rumbled and shifted.
Damn it, my prior musings wasn’t intended as a suggestion.
“Uh, Shard. I think we’re having another tremor.”
“Don’t fall, and don’t let it knock you over.”
Oh, now there’s a clever suggestion.
There’s something in the deeeep . . . dark places of the underground. Except no one’s quite sure what.
When magic is involved, you can expect weird things to happen as a result. Doubly so when it’s magical natural disasters. So when these weird magical outbursts happen and seem to have stirred up some ancient, rarely-seen creature from the depths of the underground, I definitely sat up and took notice. I really enjoyed the premise of this! It immediately captured my attention and made me want to know more. The mystery is hooking, the tension is delicious, and everything about it immediately piqued my curiosity!
“Maybe the gap widened during the tremor?” said Jari.
“Some creatures—rare ones—are not bound to physical forms the same as you or I,” said Vivian. “They are called the etherials.”
“Like the fae,” said Shard. “But they don’t dwell underground, do they?”
“No,” said Vivian. “But we know precious little about what does dwell underground.”
Not that life in Arvia has ever been rainbows and sunshine, but Darin and Rinloh find themselves grappling with new personal challenges.
Darin, actually, surprisingly, seems to be coming along well. He’s got a whole village around him now, and his network has expanded. There is a large cast in this book, but I still enjoy them. Darin seems to be carving himself out a niche, little by little.
Rinloh, on the other hand, is having a tougher time of it. The magical disasters have hit her hard, leaving her blind and completely dependent on her nestmates. Which is tragic for a harpy, especially. Given the depiction of harpy culture in the other books, I appreciated this more thoughtful look at the shifting hierarchies and the ways they dealt with tragedy. It added a lot of depth to the species, and it was interesting to see how not only Rinloh but the other harpies, as well, navigated the struggles.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“The other day I was even thinking of starting you on a second weapon.”
“Really?! What kind of a weapon? Cutlass? Longsword? Maybe a battleaxe.” Oops. That popped out a little too quickly.
“Not really.”
“I was thinking dagger. Since it’s something you have with you all the time. or at least it would be if you wouldn’t keep losing yours.”
How’d he find out about the last one? Ohhh! Note to self. Shopping at the same weapons shop as Fogmort can be hazardous to one’s positive self-image.
It’s been strongly hinted at since the first book, but in this book there’s officially a romance that is very . . . strange? It squicks me out in the sense that I can neither wrap my mind around it, nor do I particularly want to. So on this one, it’s a bit to each their own.
I don’t want to give any spoilers, but if you pick up this series and start to think . . . are they? . . . no, surely not. Well, SURPRISE! Yes, yes, they are. Eventually. I’ll be honest that I’m not a fan of romance in general, especially not in the midst of my adventure books, darn it. I am even less of a fan of interspecies romances when there are egregious differences between the species. Your mileage may vary on this one, but if this isn’t a thing you’re into, just go in prepared!
About D.H. Willison
D.H. Willison is a reader, writer, game enthusiast and developer, engineer, and history buff. He’s lived or worked in over a dozen countries, learning different cultures, viewpoints, and attitudes, which have influenced his writing, contributing to one of his major themes: alternate and creative conflict resolution. The same situations can be viewed by different cultures quite differently. Sometimes it leads to conflict, sometimes to hilarity. Both make for a great story.
He’s also never missed a chance to visit historic sites, from castle dungeons, to catacombs, to the holds of tall ships, to the tunnels of the Maginot Line. It might be considered research, except for the minor fact that his tales are all set on the whimsical and terrifying world of Arvia. Where giant mythic monsters are often more easily overcome with empathy than explosions.
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