Book Review: Fera: The Amberium Conspiracy by J.A. Strating

Book Blurb

In Orgwell, humans enslave creatures called Fera through Control and put them to work or send them into battle. The strength of a person’s Fera determines their place in society as surely as birthright.

By birth, Brum should have been privileged. Instead, his limited Control has driven him ever further down Orgwell’s social hierarchy. After his Fera dies and his guild casts him out, he joins a Fera-catching expedition to earn enough for a new one. In the wilderness, Scales—an unknown Fera with an impossible healing gift—chooses to follow him. Brum finds refuge with a man who understands what that choice means.

Isabella stands near the top of that same hierarchy. She is mistress of the Solutions Guild, yet she despises the system that placed her there. Her parents were murdered, and she has never stopped looking for those responsible. A trail of illegal Amberium crystals finally gives her something real to follow, even if it costs her title or her life.

Deep in the jungle, Isabella finds the fugitive sheltering Brum. He guards two secrets that could tear Orgwell’s social order apart. Fera can choose whom they bond with, and Amberium can be made artificially. Wendel, a high-ranking member of the Shadowdwell, has finally tracked him down. Now Brum and Isabella face the Fera he has brought to finish the hunt.

Overall Analysis of Fera: The Amberium Conspiracy

Fera: The Amberium Conspiracy by J.A. Strating is what happens when you take a monster-hunting fantasy adventure, strip away the childhood wonder, and inject it with brutal political intrigue and class warfare. The connection between Fera and Pokémon is hard to miss, and I suspect that’s entirely intentional. However, rather than rehashing the tired “boy who wants to be the very best, like no one ever waaas” trope, Strating puts his own spin on the monster-capturing genre by transplanting it into a grim, feudal world rife with violence. I also sensed a touch of Mistborn in the mix, with the “guildless” occupying a role not unlike that of the skaa (ignore the fact there are slaves in the book, which are a step lower than the guildless). Perhaps that comparison also has to do with Strating’s writing style, which somewhat matches Sanderson’s utilitarian prose.

While I’m on the subject of prose, off the bat, I noticed quite a bit of redundant phrasing, particularly in the early chapters. For example, to me, “Parlon held up his hand, the tacky dark red blood residue clinging to it,” feels a little overworked, with words conveying the same information. There were also a few awkward constructions and instances where the narration retread information that had already been thoroughly explained. 

That said, Strating resolves these technical hiccups as the novel progresses, and I noticed his prose becoming both sharper and smoother along the journey. It’s clear Strating prioritizes efficiency, ensuring he gets the message with zero confusion. Given the strength of the plot and the originality of the premise, I think this approach works in his favor. He lets the story do the heavy lifting, leaving the stylistic embellishments to authors who need a little extra smoke and mirrors to build up their plot. Having polished up his writing, that leaves me with only one last critique: his excessive use of the term “rod.” I prefer some variety to my phallic references.

Which brings me to the meat and potatoes of Fera: The Amberium Conspiracy: the story. When I was first introduced to Brum, Isabella, and Parlon, I thought I could tell where the story was heading: Brum and Isabella would join forces to topple the nobility, dismantle the guilds, and fall in love along the way. I am pleased to announce Strating left me feeling like a fool. His story subverts expectations in all the right ways.

I particularly enjoyed Brum’s journey. When Wendel captures him, I once again thought I had the story figured out: Brum would spit in his father’s face, denounce the nobility, and pledge allegiance to the rebellion. Strating opted for something far more believable. A man who has spent his entire life struggling isn’t going to suddenly reject the trappings of nobility just because he’s discovered his conscience.

Strating also gives his characters the time to grieve, rather than rushing them through loss as though it was an inconvenient plot point. This is especially evident in Clay and Isabella’s journeys, where their struggles feel all the more genuine for it. I find a lot of authors chicken out and tend to walk back a character’s trauma to revert them to the character they used to be. Strating doesn’t shy away from it. Rather, he allows it to reshape his characters in believable ways.

Final Thoughts

Fera: The Amberium Conspiracy by J.A. Strating is the first of a series, and while you shouldn’t go into it expecting an all-encompassing conclusion, the ending does expand the plot and guide future installments, all the while providing a satisfying resolution to one of the overarching plot points. While the writing may seem clunky to some early in the novel, the author seems to learn from his mistakes by buttoning-up his prose a few chapters in. The plot and characters dramatically outshine any qualms I had with some of the writings, and not being an English teacher, my innocent critiques shouldn’t hold much weight anyway. This novel is worth the read, and if this first book is any indication, this series has potential to be great.