CELLO’S GATE by Maurice Africh│ Review

Hey Bookworm friends! I’ve been meaning to post my review for Cello’s Gate for a while since it’s the first book I finished this month. I’m excited to finally share it with you all because this new indie book deserves much more attention!

Thanks to the author for kindly sending me the e-ARC; All opinions are my own.

About Cello’s Gate

Review

An adrenaline-pumping start to a new Sci-Fantasy series, with lovable-yet-flawed characters and tons of heart!

Captain Grey Shimada and his crew have developed a reputation for doing the impossible. They’ve never met a lock they can’t pick, a safe they can’t break, or a hidden treasure they can’t find. Until now. Dalia, the immortal daughter of the infamous ArchGovernor, has approached them with an incredible offer. All they have to do is find and steal the Stones of Indigo—seven fabled rocks invested with godlike power. If they succeed, the payout will allow them to retire in luxury. There’s only one issue: the stones are a myth, every pirate knows they’re just a bedtime story. Dalia insists they’re real but Grey never trusts immortals and it’s clear Dalia is hiding something. Can Grey’s crew figure out what that is before the increasingly dangerous treasure hunt claims their lives?

At over 500 pages, I enjoyed every second of this sky-pirate adventure! It certainly helps that I really love Firefly and can clearly see the inspiration, especially in Mal…I mean Grey 😉. Smuggler captain with a heart of gold who is protective of his crew and knows when to quip? Check! While there are other inspirations, from Indiana Jones to Guardians of the Galaxy, the intricate world Africh created is entirely his own. And I especially enjoyed the creative twists on familiar story beats.

“Patience is not a limitless discipline, but being able to harness it is often the difference between a good pirate and a dead pirate.”

Readers who love heists or competitions and trials will eat up Cello’s Gate! The action scenes felt cinematic and the tension the author created was so palpable that I was invested the whole time. The sheer amount of terrifying and unexpected obstacles the team encounters was enough to keep my eyes glued to the page. And by the time their lives are in danger I had already fallen in love with so many characters that I feared for them! I had genuine moments of hand-wringing and emotion welling up as I felt the stakes.

Africh’s use of the prologue was clever. It served not only for world-building but it endeared me to Grey, Minn and Farlow as children. So when I met them again as adults, I already felt like they had to be protected at all costs. Other standout characters were Dot, a Crest Knight and Mars, an ex-gladiator turned guardian and a secret character I won’t say much about because spoilers. I will say that I figured out a plot twist before it happened, but to me that doesn’t take away any of its appeal. In fact it enhanced my enjoyment as it felt satisfying to pick up on cues and be right for once! 🥲

“It’s an odd thing, to see someone unconscious. How happy they look when they don’t carry the burden of their own thoughts.”

Cello’s Gate has a fun present-tense narration style which felt intimate and worked well to create tension. But therein also lies the only thing in this book I’m unsure about. I’m unable to figure out if the narrator was simply omniscient but a bit sassy or if the narrator is a specific person and if so, who? Maybe I’m just not used to present-tense narration but there were a few ‘breaking the fourth wall’ type of comments and there is one in particular that I keep wondering and thinking about!

Either way, I’m eager to continue the series and I certainly consider myself a fan! I can’t wait to find out more about the wider world and especially about the knights and the immortals; both factions I found fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to dive into a new sci-fantasy action adventure. It’s compulsively readable with a crew of fun and distinct characters you’ll want to be ‘frens’ with… or is that just me?😜

• Goodreads
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Bluesky