War Song (A Dream of Dust and Steel Saga I) by Michael Michel
Publisher: Chainbreaker Books
Publication Date: August 8, 2025
Format: Paperback, 74 pages
Genre: Fantasy – Grimdark
POV Style: Single
Map Included: No – Not Needed
🚑 Fantasy Triage Score
Score: 4 — 🏥 Priority Treatment
🧾 Patient Intake Summary (Spoiler-Free)
Admar’s future is a path paved with broken glass.
Each step forward living under Scothean tyranny cuts away another piece of his humanity. Right down to the very bone.
But even a meager life as a miner is better than a pointless death. A sister, a mother, a lover, all lost at the uncaring hands of the Scoths, have left him with nothing but memories and ash for comfort. While stories like his are all too common, they still aren’t enough to stoke rebellion among the oppressed.
If Admar is to find hope amid the brutal occupation of his homeland, he’ll have to question how deep his convictions go. For with every crack of the enemy’s whip, he’ll know torment. With every swipe of their axes, he’ll know suffering. And every moment he refuses to act will drag him further from his destiny.
Maybe there are no more heroes left…
Or maybe they’re waiting to be made.
🦴 Musculoskeletal System — Worldbuilding Skeleton
- Diagnosis: 3 — Stable Framework
Clinical Notes:
Worldbuilding can be particularly difficult in shorter forms of writing. While I have already read the first novel, The Price of Power, in the Dream of Dust and Steel series, and thus knew the world I was getting into, it honestly did not have any benefit expect that I knew this was going to be a dark and bleak world. If anything, it added on to my knowledge, because now I got to see first hand how bad life was when the Scoths were in control of the lands.
Now, if you haven’t read The Price of Power, then you are about to get just a taste of the what despair and mortality of this world is like.
🫀 Cardiac System — Character Pulse
- Diagnosis: 4 — Strong Pulse
Clinical Notes:
Admar is our main protagonist. He a miner in one of the lands that the Scoths are ruling brutal tyranny over. Like many in Brighthaven, his hatred for the Scoth is fueled by the death of loved ones. And like many others, he is too afraid to do anything, to even mutter a single word against the Scoths. This is his conflict: wether to stand up and fight and voice his rage, and risk dying for what he believes in – or sit down, being calm, complacent, and broken, and merely happy that you haven’t been murdered and are still living, even if it isn’t much a life of living.
Carbuncle is one of the Ruptured. There two type of people who can use magic: One is the Awakened, and other is the Ruptured… the Ruptured are Awakened gone wrong (more about the magic system below). She works for the Scoths using her magic powers to deal with anyone who may be doing or thinking ill about going against the Scoths.
Danath and Harcune are two slaves who have been working the slave quarries for a very extended time. For those who have already started the series, one of these names should stick out, and thus give you a reason to learn more of the origin story. Those are starting the series here, you will get a cool surprise when you do start The Price of Power.
⚡ Nervous System – Quest Adrenaline
- Diagnosis: 3 — Moderate challenge
Clinical Notes:
As what seems to be the theme is Michel’s writing, the quest often aligns with our character’s growth. As I stated above, Admar’s conflict is if he should stand and fight, or put his tail between his legs and be grateful for scraps. And he does bounce back and forth between the two quite often. Then going with this internal struggle, is wether or not the people will stand up to Scoths, will the mice group together to take down a viper?
🩸 Circulatory System — Political Blood Pressure
- Diagnosis: 3 — Elevated Pressures
Clinical Notes:
Again, this is a short format, so unless the main plot of story is directly about political intrigue, and seeing players make moves in what ever Game their house is involved in, building that political tension can be a challenge. That being said, the Scoths are brutal tyrants, knows a vipers, and slaves (while not all people are officially ‘slaves’, everyone is still essentially a slave to the Scoths) are known as mice. It gave me enough of political setting to understand why the people were pissed and wanted to revolt.
🧬 Genetics — Magic System DNA
- Diagnosis: 3 — Functional
Clinical Notes:
In this novella, there is one person, Carbuncle, who can use magic, and she is called a Ruptured. The other people who can use magic are the Awakened. The Ruptured are thought of as a version of the Awaken of that went rotten or wrong. We don’t know how magic works, and that is not important to the story at all, but we do know that they do have the ability to melt flesh.
🔥 Trauma Response — Climactic Trauma
- Diagnosis: 4 — Critical Condition
Clinical Notes:
Fantastic ending. If you have read the The Price of Power, you will have some idea how it will end – but even if you know the direction, the twist and turns will get you.
💊 Prescription Tropes
Recommended For:
- Fans who are already reading the Dreams of Dust and Steel series
- Readers looking for a taste of what to expect in the Dreams of Dust and Steel series
- Grimdark
- Character driven stories
⚠️ Known Side Effects:
- Some people just don’t like novella/novelette (thought why, I personally do not understand)
- Gruesome bleak world, with characters and fights scenes to match
📝 Long-Term Prognosis
Closing thoughts:
The main question people reading this are probably going be asking is: Do I need to read this first or can just start with The Price of Power? And the answer is, it really does not matter. For me, having read The Price of Power already, it was an opportunity to see what the lands were like when the Scoths ruled, and to get a glimpse of a character named later on – but I do not think there was any benefit in having already read book 1 already. If you haven’t started the series, this will give a great picture of what to expect from Michael’s writing and the world you are about to be entering, and then when you do read The Price of Power, you will have seen like 30 pages of when the Scoths ruled, which in my opinion, does not benefit you at all when you start The Price of Power. If anything, it was cooler to hear about how horrific the lands were first, and then to go back and read about how it was after.
Then again, maybe you are not interest in the series at all, but are Grimdark fan, and thus this is a great story to spend an hour or two reading!
📊 Fantasy Lab Results
| System | Diagnosis |
|---|---|
| 🦴 Worldbuilding Skeleton | 3 — Stable Framework |
| 🫀 Character Pulse | 4 — Strong Pulse |
| ⚡ Quest Adrenaline | 3 — Moderate challenge |
| 🩸 Political Blood Pressure | 3 — Elevated Pressures |
| 🧬 Magic System DNA | 3 — Functional |
| 🔥 Climactic Trauma | 4 — Critical Condition |
Reading Difficulty Diagnosis: 3 — Moderate Cognitive Load
Map Dependence: Not Needed
Commitment Level: 🩹 Standalone
Treatment Plan: No Follow-Up Required
Final Diagnosis: 4 – Peak Condition
– DJ, Bookworm MD
Bookworm M.D. 