Unbroken Truth by Lukas Lundh - Rajiv's Reviews

Unbroken Truth (Gleam, #1) by Lukas Lundh

Release: October 31, 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Indie Author
Source: Rachel’s Random Resources
Find it at Goodreads, Kindle, Books2 Read

Beneath the arcane Rustpeaks lies the city of Lansfyrd, where visibility is at an all-time low and generally airships rumble through the skies. Detective Lentsay “Len” Yoriya is a former homicide detective stuck at a burglary assignment as punishment for loving the wrong person. But when a xenophobic radio-shaman is murdered and the killers try to frame the city’s oppressed insectoids, Len sees a chance to prove her worth. Though high-profile murders are rarely uncomplicated.

In the city’s affluent quarters, Len’s partner Vli-Rana Talie works as a lector at the university, studying the history of a species that once ruled the world. As the temperature rises for her partner, Vli will soon realize that delving into history, which some would prefer was forgotten, will carry risks of its own. Especially when the ambitions of empires are affected.
Meanwhile, there is an election coming up, and the tension simmering in the city is reaching a boiling point. Most important, Vli and Len must find what allies they can and face the powers that threaten their home.
History never ends, and unless its lessons are heeded what was once the past might become the present.

About the Author:

Lukas Lundh grew up around books and started writing in early childhood. He speaks English, Swedish, and Japanese from living in New Zealand as a teen and studying for a year in Japan in the early 20s.
He is educated in philosophy, game design, creative writing, and is currently working on a history degree.
Between reading course books which inspire history flash-fictions, Lukas writes everything in between space opera, fantasy steampunk, and post-ap war dystopias.
Also, his debut novel, a steampunk spy thriller, Unbroken Truth, is available for pre-order. He doesn’t blog, but he is active on Twitter.

Twitter | Goodreads

Unbroken Truth Review:

I thought the story was exciting and creative!

The author wrote the story in a gripping manner. I loved the world-building. It is complex, intricate, and very unique in the city of Lansfyrd. There are various species and concepts, and the author makes the story particularly intriguing with the politics and murder investigations. Also, the author wrote some scenes in a very memorable manner. I specifically liked the Banner riots’ gripping scenes, where we see Len and Vli’s perspective. There are also some mystery elements like who Vli sees in the riots and Odei’s office.

Similarly, I also liked both the leads, Vli and Len. However, Vli stands out in the story as she investigates the mystery. Some of the supporting characters like Song, Dunteil, Tzo, and Tarntsei also add nicely to the book. Significantly, each of them adds their value to the storyline. Also, the author maintains the momentum of the plot right till the climax. What’s more, the climax introduces many questions like light-bringers, which makes you look forward to the next book.

However, it took me a while to get used to the world and the characters. The author introduces many names and concepts like Xetaran, Eninga, Sunlit Road, etc. While I liked some of the innovative terms like “Song under clouded moon” and “Rays through Skyfall,” at times, it felt like the author put in too many details. I started to get the groove of the plot only from the 4th chapter. Apart from that, this was quite entertaining.

Overall, this was a nice science-fiction, futuristic crime mystery novel to read.