I Can’t Wait For…The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott

Posted 22nd March 2023 by Sia in Can't-Wait Wednesday / 0 Comments

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott!

The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: M/M
Published on: 5th June 2023
Goodreads

Rejected by his aristocratic family, Gil Irichels has been content to make his living as a traveling cursebreaker, working with his lover, the feral mage Envar Cassi, and their bodyguard, swordswoman Arak min’Aroi. After a series of deaths leave him the sole heir to the family’s house and fortune, Irichels’s main concern is to do whatever he must to settle the estate and return to his previous life. But these is something very wrong in seaborne Bejanth, starting with the deaths of his kin and spreading into the complex web of politics and magic that holds the city together. As he struggles to discover the truth behind his family’s losses, he realizes that there is more at stake than the fall of one house. Someone is unraveling the web of curses on which the city depends, and Irichels is the only person who can stop them—if it’s not already too late.

This week Candlemark & Gleam revealed the stunning cover for Melissa Scott’s new fantasy standalone, The Master of Samar! Which meant I could finally feature this book, as I have been dying to do!

Why??? BECAUSE IT’S MELISSA SCOTT, IS WHY! I have adored every single one of her fantasy books – her Astreiant series is my go-to comfort read and I reread all five books every year! And her previous fantasy standalone, Water Horse, instantly become one of my all-time faves when it was released.

What I’m saying is that I would be vibrating with excitement no matter what the premise of The Master of Samar was – but this premise is amazing!!! ‘his lover, the feral mage Envar Cassi’?! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW FERAL I AM FOR FERAL CHARACTERS??? Plus magical politics, and a city held together by curses??? I don’t know how that works but I cannot WAIT to find out!

(And how does a cursebreaker fit into a city of curses???)

Speaking of ‘seaborne Bejanth’ – I know from Scott’s Patreon that Bejanth is inspired by Venice, and I literally cannot imagine a setting better-suited to Scott’s gorgeously descriptive prose!

Focusing on that INCREDIBLE cover for a sec, I was delighted to discover that Candlelight & Gleam has once again commissioned art by the inestimable H. Won, who also created the beautiful cover of The Map and the Territory by A.M. Tuomala (another of my favourite books, which I take as an excellent omen!) Thereby proving Candlelight & Gleam continue to have the most wonderful taste!

So yes. I am TWIRLING with delight, and really cannot WAIT to dive into the inky depths of Master of Samar!

But I must, so I shall console myself with rereading Scott’s marvellous backlist in the meantime…!

Tags:

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.