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Shaun Paul Stevens
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Servant of the Lesser Good (The Feyrlands Collection) Kindle Edition

by Shaun Paul Stevens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

A Cursed Symphony and Magic which tells Stories in your Mind

High Mistress Talia is a hell-raising socialite with a murky past. But she has a bright future. Beautiful, rich, and a virtuoso harpist, she’s betrothed to the Count of Brecht. In short, she has it all. Or so it would seem.

Marla Holst is the new lady’s maid, but never has the ‘help’ been so unhelpful. Marla, real name Mist, has only one mission: to stop the high mistress’s marriage. By any means necessary.

But complications abound. Talia’s disturbed daughter, a girl who can see into the future, is cursed with the stigma of a devil-worshipping father. The count’s father, the Duke of Rizak, is a recluse, too afraid of assassins to show his face. And all the nobility want to do is duel.

Meanwhile, the highlight of the season—a recital of the famous ‘Cursed Symphony,’ draws ever closer.


Epic Fantasy for fans of Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, V.E. Schwab.
Please note: This book contains mature themes.

---

PRAISE FOR SERVANT OF THE LESSER GOOD
"Intrigue & magic sprinkled with 18th century glamour & glitz. A great read."
"A fun book with heart that pulls no punches."
"Exciting fantasy adventure mixed with conflicted characters."

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  1. Part of series
    The Feyrlands Collection
  2. Print length
    231 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    December 2, 2021
  5. File size
    4.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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From the Publisher

A Cursed Symphony - Image Spread
Feyrlands Map
Extract - A night on the run
Series Books

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review Rating: 5/5

The phrase "Eat the Rich" comes to mind, when contemplating the outstanding fantasy "Servant of the Lesser Good", by Shaun Paul Stevens.

The book is set in an 18th century / Enlightenment Period-inspired type world, where all of the absolute worst traits of wealth and influential aristocracy are on display. The nobility in the book are depicted as spoiled, vain, callous, selfish and completely self-absorbed, cruel, willful, and completely oblivious to the plight and concerns of those of lower social status.

In other words, they are pretty well utterly vile people, without conscience, who rarely if ever face consequences for their actions. To foil them, some at least close to being as heartless, is required. Enter "Mist".

The opening of the book is reminiscent of passages from the Stephen King classic "Misery", on which the chilling movie was based. An innocent woman is being kept against her will, restrained to a bed, wallowing in her own urine. Mist is one of her caretakers, though she is not ultimately responsible for the woman's captivity.

The captive is just a pawn, a piece in an elaborate scheme, to plant Mist as a servant in the household of the beautiful but shallow and spiteful Talia. Talia is a wealthy socialite who has been embarrassed by her ex-husband's affair with another woman, and his dabbling in witchcraft. Her ex-husband has been imprisoned, but Talia has landed on her feet, and secured a new, even wealthier and more prominent mate in the Count of Brecht.

Talia's engagement to Count Brecht, however, is an issue for the mysterious forces who want to ensure the two are never married. Mist works for those mysterious forces, and she is far more formidable than she appears. Cunning, trained in martial arts, and of steely disposition, Mist cleverly manipulates herself into Tania's employment.

But along with staying one step ahead of Tania and her other staff, lest Mist being discovered as a fraud, the fake-maid must cope with Talia's peculiar daughter, for whom the hardened Mist has a soft-spot. Tania's daughter seems to be a soothsayer, and possibly channelling powers of the occult, like her father. That is just the beginning of the strange and disturbing circumstances that surround Mist, as Talia - an expert harpist - prepares to perform in the notorious Cursed Symphony.

With creepy intrigue and suspense, enchanting prose, sprinkled with a few great action sequences, Stevens will draw the reader into a world of the amoral, the heartless, the desperate, and the despicable. The secondary characters are conflicted at best, downright detestable or outright evil at worst. There are very few if any "good" people in the book.
The plot makes for a compulsive read. Tantalising piece by tantalising piece, the true nature of who Mist really is, and why Mist and those she truly works for (and who they are) want so badly to prevent Talia from marrying the count, is revealed. I found myself reading late into the night, saying to myself "just one more chapter", and then going for one more.

The worldbuilding is excellent. The author's descriptive and lyrical prose makes it easy to envision the surroundings Mist finds herself in. The soulless high society, the criminal underworld, the commoners caught in the middle, and the places they all inhabit, were all evocatively, and very realistically detailed by Stephens. I believe fans of Scott Lynch and "Lies of Locke Lamora" would find a similar affinity for Stevens' work.

- P.L. Stuart ('Before We Go' blog)

From the Author

Servant of the Lesser Good is a standalone fantasy adventure, In Bruges meets Jane Austin meets His Dark Materials. The main character, Mist, features in another book in the Feyrlands series, Nether Light, and this is a prequel to that story, following her in an earlier, coming of age tale.

However, this is not really Mist's story, rather it is that of a frightened, unloved child. Full of intrigue, strange magic and deadly stakes, this book will make your heart race, your soul sing, and your fingers dance across the pages.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09HV3RYW7
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pitt Norton Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2021
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.1 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 231 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ The Feyrlands Collection
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

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Shaun Paul Stevens

Shaun Paul Stevens

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Born in London in 1972, Shaun spent his formative years in the shadows of the dreaming spires of Oxford, before moving to Nottingham, where he graduated university with a degree in English and Media.

Navigating a path through music, art and the internet, writing came calling and he found himself ensconced in alternate realities and gritty fantasy worlds. He has written several books to date.

Shaun now lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England, with his patient family and ungrateful cat, generally being a nerd.

Find out more at shaunpaulstevens.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amy's Bookshelf Reviews
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and Uniquely Character Driven
    Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Stevens pens a magnificent story in Servant of the Lesser Good. I have read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were unique, quirky, very conflicted and a bit raw. This author brings the story to life. The characters had a lot of depth and were very magnetic. Society and its hierarchy, and the complications that come from curses, fantasy and the unexplainable. This book deserves a second read! (and maybe more). It is a very well-written story, and I enjoyed it. It’s one of those embraceable stories. It’s definitely un-put-downable! It is always an honor to read this author's stories. Masterfully written! This author not only tells the story but shows it with words as well. A "cursed symphony" indeed. Very impressive story telling. Servant of the Lesser Good is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author.
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  • Chey3995
    4.0 out of 5 stars Short(ish) Prequel
    Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021
    Back in the Ferylands, we are given a prequel through the eyes of Mist (or Marla as she is undercover as). Posed as a maid, she has one goal: stop the High Mistress Talia from marrying the Count of Brecht. But, of course, things awry.

    The novel is shorter, and provides us some insight into Mist's interactions with the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing and the way the story evolved. The plotline was intriguing and definitely is comparable to the style of Brent Weeks Night Angel trilogy. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys epic fantasy novels.
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  • SueB
    5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely loved this book
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2022
    In Servant of the Lesser Good, Shaun Paul Stevens serves up an extraordinarily rich banquet of subterfuge, kidnap, political machinations, a complicated and elaborate assassination plot, a tense and exciting chase, a card-reading, future-telling child, a drug which causes the colour to seep out of the world, a touch of magic, some of the most obnoxious nobles you’re ever likely to meet in a novella of this length and a completely likeable feisty heroine in the shape of Mist, aka Marla Holst, whose cover-role as famous harpist Talia’s handmaiden causes her to hold her tongue and keep her behaviour in check on more than one occasion:

    “Tell you what,” Mist offered. “I’ll let you in on a secret too. Then we can both trust each other?” Paloma nodded enthusiastically. “I’m not really a handmaiden,” Mist said. “I’m a trained killer.”

    In reality Mist is in the employ of the Network, a shadowy underground organization of spies working towards the goal of keeping the country from falling into civil war:

    The Network’s statisticians had plotted the predicted battles like any competent intelligence agency, measuring the toll a civil war would take on the lives of children and innocents if the duchies broke away from a unified Sendal.

    I really enjoyed Mist’s character once the story got going. To begin with I didn’t think I was going to connect with any of the characters as they all seemed fairly despicable, but as the motives for their behaviour come to light and the characters are further developed I came to really like Mist.

    "Who was she kidding? There was no justifying her actions. She was what she was. People are."

    She was very self-aware and resigned to the fact that the soulshade drug was having a permanent effect on her health but was a necessary evil for her assignment to be successful.

    My favourite scene from the story was the exciting, edge of the seat chase with Mist being pursued all over town by the city guards and her impressive talents of escape:

    "She sprinted along the rooftop, vaulted another chimney pot, down onto another ridge, one foot at a time, slipping on the dusty tiles. Hands pumping, feet springing catlike, she jumped another gap and rolled. The roof turned to tin, clattering beneath her feet like metal thunder. She jumped for a balcony, running across, dipping under a washing line, nearly poleaxed, and swung over the railing, leaping onto the next building. Beggars, this was acrobatics on instinct, silvery vague patterns of architecture suggested but uncertain. Down below, the soldiers bellowed and swore, struggling to keep up. But keep up they did."

    There is magic in this world in the form of Faze energy, which is tapped into by the musical enhancement device called a Serenade, which Talia uses when playing her harp. It puts visions and strange thoughts into the minds of her audience.

    “And all the while, the Serenade spun gently around like a tiny planet, its click-clack whir faintly audible between pauses. The device was responsible for the madness. It had to be. But despite the worrying ramification that her mind was not her own, such forgotten feelings were rare meat, lost long ago, and a traitorous part of her welcomed them in.”

    My only criticism of this novella was that Faze energy was never really explained in any great detail. I felt that more discussion of it was needed – it was casually swept aside by the author and I would have enjoyed more depth of explanation, as it seemed really intriguing:

    “It wasn’t wise to ask how anything to do with Faze energy worked. The force binding the world together was something for scholars and priests to study, not ladies and their handmaidens.”

    The book’s ending was really gripping and came as a complete shock with hidden twists and turns making it all the more satisfying as a conclusion. The quality of the writing was excellent throughout this book, and I really enjoyed the dialogue and some of the colloquialisms used. “Face like a smacked arse” is an expression often used by my husband, but I had never seen it in a book before!

    It was ambitious to fit so much into a relatively short book but I think the author managed to pull it off really well and I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend Servant of the Lesser Good. I will eagerly be adding the next book in the Feyrlands Collection – Nether Light to my ‘must reads’ list.
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  • Psigirl6
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good paranormal
    Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2021
    Received an arc from netgalley. This is a really good paranormal. Definitely recommend it
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  • Tara Rose Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good read
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2021
    My first book by this author but not my last. The story is captivating the characters simply well defined. The story progresses perfectly.
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  • RetroGirlReads
    5.0 out of 5 stars This was super intriguing!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021
    High Mistress Talia is beautiful and talented, but also obnoxious and self absorbed. She has everything a lady could ever want: beautiful gowns, jewels, and a betrothal to a wealthy and desirable nobleman. However, everything is not what it seems, and Talia’s life may not be perfect after all.

    Marla Horst is the high mistress’ new lady’s maid - but her name is not actually Marla Horst. Marla’s real name is Mist, and Mist only has one goal: stop the high mistress’ upcoming marriage by any means necessary. But as Mist works her way into Talia’s trust, things become more complicated than she expected. The high mistress’ daughter, Paloma, used fortune telling techniques to predict the future: and her predictions for Mist are eerily accurate.

    Wow!!! This is my first book by Shaun Paul Stevens, and it did not disappoint! The premise is so unique, and I loved the assassination aspect of the plot. I was immediately drawn in to this story, and I couldn’t make myself put it down!!! I loved how suspenseful it was, and how the further you got into the book, the more tiny details were revealed. And that ending!!! Absolutely brilliant.

    Let’s talk about Stevens’ main character, Mist. Mist was such a breath of fresh air for me. Most female main characters are kind of the simpering, docile, damsel in distress type. Not Mist. She was bold, snarky, and resourceful, and I was always impressed with how she got what she needed to do done. She was an extremely likable character, and I look forward to reading more about her in the next book.

    I would definitely recommend this book!!!
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Bookish Bastard
    5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, deceptively dark storytelling
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 30, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    In under 260 pages, Stevens tells a thoughtful, deceptively dark tale about a con / ploy that asks as much questions as it answers along the way. Told through the lens of a single POV - a female lead character - using a 3rd person narrative, providing more layers and depth than one would imagine in such a short novel.

    A focused story, combining pretty high quality writing with attention to details, and carefully balanced story elements. Nothing stuck out at the cost of something else here; the author made sure to attentively unroll all aspects with a similar amount of care and devotion. A colorful cast of amoral characters, some closer to black rather than morally grey though. From start to finish, Stevens keeps the tension, suspense, and mystery at a high level. He seems to understand that, no matter what you're writing, do it with intensity. And so he did. Non-violent scenes were just as fierce as the sparse action-heavy moments.

    The story takes place in a Victorian-esque city, with some Asian influences. It highlights high society, political intrigue, music, obscure magic, and more. There's some humor and levity, but overall it's a tense, serious story. It showcases the utterly unpleasant sides of the rich & powerful. While you can sympathise with certain characters in certain situations, Shaun Paul Stevens does a very good job of keeping everyone's morality ambiguous. It never got in the way of the story in my opinion, it enriched my reading experience by not making anything an easy black & white decision.

    A map and character list are also provided. This works perfectly as a standalone, as it tells an entirely conclusive story, though some of the terminology used in this novel wasn't always clear to me. I've read his novella - Deliverance at Van Demon's Deep - and gave that an easy, solid 8/10. This one was different, but better in my opinion. I'll be reading more by this author. My rating : 8.75/10
    Customer image
    Bookish Bastard
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Captivating, deceptively dark storytelling

    Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 30, 2023
    In under 260 pages, Stevens tells a thoughtful, deceptively dark tale about a con / ploy that asks as much questions as it answers along the way. Told through the lens of a single POV - a female lead character - using a 3rd person narrative, providing more layers and depth than one would imagine in such a short novel.

    A focused story, combining pretty high quality writing with attention to details, and carefully balanced story elements. Nothing stuck out at the cost of something else here; the author made sure to attentively unroll all aspects with a similar amount of care and devotion. A colorful cast of amoral characters, some closer to black rather than morally grey though. From start to finish, Stevens keeps the tension, suspense, and mystery at a high level. He seems to understand that, no matter what you're writing, do it with intensity. And so he did. Non-violent scenes were just as fierce as the sparse action-heavy moments.

    The story takes place in a Victorian-esque city, with some Asian influences. It highlights high society, political intrigue, music, obscure magic, and more. There's some humor and levity, but overall it's a tense, serious story. It showcases the utterly unpleasant sides of the rich & powerful. While you can sympathise with certain characters in certain situations, Shaun Paul Stevens does a very good job of keeping everyone's morality ambiguous. It never got in the way of the story in my opinion, it enriched my reading experience by not making anything an easy black & white decision.

    A map and character list are also provided. This works perfectly as a standalone, as it tells an entirely conclusive story, though some of the terminology used in this novel wasn't always clear to me. I've read his novella - Deliverance at Van Demon's Deep - and gave that an easy, solid 8/10. This one was different, but better in my opinion. I'll be reading more by this author. My rating : 8.75/10
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