Sins and Sorrows

by Mike Mollman

Koni gave up her high station to become Conwenna, a blacksmith's wife and devoted mother. But duty calls at unexpected times. Sorrows await as Conwenna must become Koni again, or let cruel men come to power.

Alfswich has become wealthy by committing what others call sins. When a hag's curse is leveled upon him, he commits murder, theft and betrayal to escape it. But is his solution worse?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1737052474
• ISBN13: 9781737052470
• Release Date: December 2022
• Publisher: Beaver Castle Media
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

These stories lack focus and feel disjointed and aimless

"Sins and Sorrows" is a collection of short stories and novellas related to but not directly following the first book in the series. Three short stories deal with Grahme, the protagonist of the previous book, both before and after the events of that book. The two prequel stories are good, fleshing out his character and showing how he got to where he was at the beginning of the previous book. The sequel story doesn’t make sense and feels like an inside joke, and obviously I don’t know the punchline. The novellas each follow a different character Grahme met during his adventures. These stories expand the series’ setting by diving into the familial, geographic, and political worlds of the Sorim, an island culture off the coast of Pretanni. While the journey is interesting, the characters are flat and difficult to identify with, and I found myself not caring about them or their problems and dilemmas. This volume is comprised of short stories and novellas, so it is understandable that the stories do not all relate to each other; unfortunately, even in the microcosm of each tale, there is no unifying throughline to bind it together and make it meaningful or cohesive. The best way to describe each story is that things happen and then more things happen. This volume reinforced my opinions of the weaknesses of the first book in terms of plot, character arcs, and general consistency. It’s not a book I would read again nor recommend to anyone else unless they read the first book of the series and really liked it.