Sky Tracer

The Fungal Realm, Book 1

De: Hayden Moore

Narrado por: Hayden Moore

In the eternal darkness of the Fungal Realm of Ūmfalla, two women from different worlds form an unlikely bond and use their newfound powers to try and topple an empire. In Ümfalla, only those with dark-bright eyes can see the way. A Wanderer with a forgotten past and a mechanical-arm named, MĒNA, is one of those few.

When she rescues a woman named, RUTHY, who has fallen from Sky Tracer—an abysmal machine that transports stolen children over the dark land to be sacrificed—she is thrust into a fight against the warrior Reapers and magical Weirs for the very existence of the realm. The world-tree of the sunlit realm of Avernus looms large over the Spore Cloud that shrouds Ümfalla in eternal darkness.

Through secrets and deception, RUTHY reveals that she is actually ARETHŪSA, the new Ruler of Avernus who can speak through the mycelium beneath the earth and directly to the Goddess who sleeps within the world-tree.

©2023 Hayden Moore (P)2024 Hayden Moore

The beauty of an eerie mushroom realm

I would like to thank the author Hayden Moore for providing me with an audiobook in exchange for an honest review! 🍄

I had Sky Tracer stuck in my mind for some time before settling on a 3,5* review, which in my rating means - Sky Tracer is a good book that I would recommend to a specific audience.

🍄 Unique fungal concept
🍄 LGBTQ+ characters
🍄 Female main characters
🍄 Disability rep
🍄 High fantasy

WORLD
The rich world-building in this book creates an atmospheric and especially unique setting for the story in the mushroom realm of Umfalla with creative use of spore magic and fungal biodiversity. Those interested in themes of mycology would find this high-fantasy book especially appealing! Think of *bioluminescent fungal realm*

CHARACTERS
I would love to say that this story belongs to strong women with even stronger minds. The MCs Mena and Ruthy meet under questionable circumstances, think *one falls from the sky*, but against all odds a strong alliance forms in the hope of toppling an oppressive empire. We set on an epic journey following not only the fight for Umfalla but also the complex backstory of each character unfolding with each page. I don't want to spoil anything but Mena's determination to achieve her goals and personality overall really made her my favourite character.

AUDIOBOOK
Although the writing of Sky Tracer can be easily described as poetic and lush, I would say that the audiobook narrated by the author himself, Hayden Moore, is a completely new way to relive the story. The narration was IMO done beautifully, everything sounded clear and especially magically! H. Moore's voice acting gave the story a whole new layer and I would recommend every fan of Sky Tracer to listen to the audiobook version as well!

DISLIKES
As a first-time reader of anything with fungal theme, a whole mushroom realm was a little confusing for me in some parts of the description, so be prepared to Google or know your shrooms people! Haha.
Even with such unique characters, the name changing and multiple POV switches, make that some confusion can arise easily.
I have nothing against slurs and sexual themes in books, but their frequent reoccurrence in this high-fantasy setting felt unnecessary to me.

ALL IN ALL
Sky Tracer is a great debut novel, with a unique high fantasy setting, eerie elements, complex plot, determined characters and a stirring finish ... triggering a new set of events for the next book!

An epic fantasy that takes you to a unique world with bad ass characters

BOOK REVIEW for 🍄Sky Tracer 🍄The Fungal Realm Book 1
Author: Hayden Moore
Book format: Paperback/Audiobook
Page count: 272
Genre: Epic Fantasy

✨✨✨✨✨
Sky Tracer is a unique beautifully written epic fantasy story set in Umfalla, a fungal land surrounded by gorgeous enlarged mushrooms. The main characters are Mena, a Wanderer who has a mechanical arm & Ruthy, a woman she saved after seeing her fall from the sky...from Sky Tracer, a machine that transfers children over the dark land to be sacrificed.

Soon they are both thrown into a fight against scary Reapers & magical Weirs (magical people) to claim the Realm. As the friendship continues, Ruthy ends up not being who she says she is.

More characters join in on their adventure, and Ruthy drifts from Mena during battles of the Reapers & other scary creatures.

I don't want to give the rest away as there are twists so on to the other feedback :)

Not only are the descriptions & world building well-written, taking you into a very fantasy novel, but the character development is strong, even with the supporting characters.

The swear words offer comic relief, as well as seriousness in the scenes. Overall, this is something I could see being a series or movie. I can't wait to read book 2.

As I was 1/4 into the book, the author released an Audiobook that HE recorded all by himself, which is so cool! I got the audiobook right away, & would alter reading along with the book & audiobook, or doing one or the other. It helped me fully grasp the story because I personally do not read fantasy novels very often...I watch them on the movie screen, due to my short attention span. The world building captures Umfalla & the character's actions/back story, so I am glad that I was able to fully absorb the story. It's also inspired me to branch out more to read/listen to fantasy genre. Thriller/suspense novels can sometimes get old.

After Listening Thoughts ~

Unique and alluring, Sky Tracer’s beautiful imagery and captivating ensemble pair for an epic adventure. Full of action, fantasy, and unlikely and unbreakable bonds.

I love stories about bad-ass women and Sky Tracer did not disappoint.

I listened to this on audio, but wished I also had a written companion for some of the more intricate acts and dense descriptions to be able to break down in my own mind, at my own pace, what was going on, but that didn’t hinder the experience or enjoyability of the book.

Read by the author himself with great diction and tone, it definitely set the mood for an exciting journey through the fungal realm.

Thank you Hayden Moore for the audio copy of Sky Tracer. Can’t wait to see how this debut is followed up.

Perfectly Majestic Voice

I read Hayden Moore’s mystical novel Sky Tracer months ago and immediately wanted to read it again. The world he created is unlike anything ever seen or imagined before.
The audible version makes this world touchable if you get my meaning. Hayden’s amazing voice brings the characters and their unique earth to life in such a satisfying way.
I love listening to his audible version of Sky Tracer with the occasional sound of a page being turned by this incredible author. Perfect!

Umfallah

That these are the gods and titans of Umfallah and that the spore cloud is only sexual to mushrooms but “They”” bare one child.

Prose were outstanding

Although I'm not a big fan of fantasy, I found myself reading this book (after hearing the author's reading on an Instagram add), mostly for the ornate language used. Finding myself a little confused at the beginning ( mostly because I'm new to the genre) I restarted from the beginning and found myself not only hooked to the prose & author's narration, but also the plot, which was so thick that I found myself pausing at intervals to digest some of what I heard. All in all, 10 out of 10.