DRC Review: A Haunt for Jackals by J.L. Odom
Release date:Â 25 February 2025
Rating:Â 5/5
Synopsis: After capturing a jinn-devil and fleeing to the desert, Azetla has exchanged the threat of execution for the weight of high treason. Thousands of men are now under his command—for the Emperor’s brother must have both a scapegoat and a symbol to stand behind his quiet coup.
But Azetla has different plans. He means to bring his masters a war which will spread throughout the southern desert, and beyond. As Azetla gathers troops and tribes and victories, his reluctant alliance with the Sahr devil becomes an indispensable one. Few can resist the influence of her words, which reach every tongue and every tribe.
The rebellious nobility of Maurow will get more than they ever bargained for.
The Emperor’s brother, James, will become a far more ruthless man than he ever wanted to be.
And the whole southern desert will be tempted by the chance to cast off the yoke of the Empire
They need only submit to the command of a jackal and the voice of a jinn.
Review
Odom’s one of those authors whose books I read and my love for indies solidifies while growing at the same time. A Haunt for Jackals, and By Blood, By Salt for that matter, are what I like to call Iceberg Books—books with deep meaning floating around under all of the surface action going on in the plot and dialogue. Not many books occupy this list for me, but Odom’s Land of Exile books both have a spot on it. Everything action taken and word spoken by the characters has much potential for good or ill. I questioned everything and anything anyone did or said and read the whole book squinty-eyed with suspicion. The characters, world building, and prose all made this book such a treasure. I can’t wait to get my preorder—I’m going to cover it in sticky tabs because of all the fantastic things in it.
I read A Haunt for Jackals right after FINALLY picking up By Blood, By Salt—which has been in my house on my bookshelf since almost after it released. I loved Azetla from the first sentence he occupied the page. He deftly navigates the hostile world he finds himself bogged down in, and despite the despised status he holds in his bloodline and culture, the men in his battalion respect him and follow him with no small degree of loyalty. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s wicked smart and can plan a battle like nobody’s business. Speaking of battles, on the way to start one, the jinn devil he and his men encountered in the last book seems to just want to stick around, and she makes things quite interesting.
Azetla and this jinn have an interesting relationship. They’re both formidable fighters and brilliant strategists. I spent most of the book going back and forth wondering if either of them were nefarious or virtuous. (I’m still trying to figure that out but just in a different dimension of the terms). Balancing their ever-increasingly and wildly unpopular proximity to and influence over each other with their growing attraction in some way, shape or form to each other, the two warriors must also navigate the dangerous road they travel on with a man to whom they have no real allegiance but know that if they fail, because of their relationship with him, they will be executed for certain. Â
All of this stuff pressurizes and packs down until it absolutely combusts. Every step of the way to that end is full of nuance, side glances, double and triple meanings of words, reluctant attachments, and man—just a fantastic means of the telling. Odom’s writing comes from a familiar place in terms of military culture, and I so enjoyed reading a very rare yet authentic military fantasy that highlights much of the qualities in people I love reading about. I cannot wait to read what’s next.
My profound and humble thanks to the author for the DRC, for which I willingly give my honest opinion.