"Kindly, they showed us to open land where we may settle for our needs, which is where we are all standing now. As our needs grew, we expanded, as is the price of progress. But they understood, and they, too, felt the price of progress for themselves and expanded elsewhere"
She continued to stand, unblinking, unconvinced. "Progress. Expansion. Sounds like subjugation and elimination to my ears."

The Bleeding Stone is the debut novel from Joseph John Lee, and such an ambitious story that explores themes that are usually unused in fantasy, such as can be the perspective of how history is written and the prize of progress, one of my favourite aspects of this book. Due to using those in a secondary world, classifying this book has been a difficult task, as I wasn't sure to which genre I could ascribe it (in the end, the line in this book between being historical fantasy and epic fantasy is really thin). 

We are going to be following the conquest of the nation-land of Ferranda by the invaders, but following on a different perspective; usually, colonialism is told from the invading side, but this novel is focused on the indigenous point of view, showing how they are being displaced and even enslaved by the conquerors lead by Aritz a Mata. While the timeline used is going to be split, the central story will be following Sen, one of the members of the Stone Tribe, but who has been treated as an outcast and considered cursed by her own mates; only being able to be barely accepted due to her condition as chief's daughter.

"You know, eventually," Koelhe said, "she's going to find out. She's not born under a Sign. She will not be welcomed when she comes of age."
"As long as I am Chief, she will be welcomed," Fannalhen said sternly. "She is my daughter, my love, my light. Whatever happens from here on, it will not change that. Do I have your word, all of you?"

Due to Aritz's forces pushing the tribe, and committing deplorable acts that include taking people from Stone Tribe as slaves, Sen starts a quest in the company of Nara in order to make them free; pushing her to the limits just trying to do what she thinks is better for her people.

Sen is an excellent character, and perfect for depicting multiple aspects that are an integral part of the novel. As a person born during an eclipse, she's considered cursed, mostly due to ancient superstitions; Sen is barely accepted, and mostly because she's the chief's daughter, having to deal with that stigma all the time. Many times we see her struggling with expectations and self-confidence. Her helping hand during the quest, Nara, is an excellent support, complementing those parts where Sen is lacking more.

Worldbuilding is probably one of the aspects that drew more to this world, as it has been inspired by post-colonial America, one of my favourite historical periods; but in this case Lee gives a new twist on it, adding his own tribes and characters, giving some details of each one of these tribes (and I hope it gets expanded in subsequent novels). Invaders are also an accurate depiction of how they operated in that period, considering the natives as not much more than flesh to enslave, mere objects that they can dominate because they are technologically superior.

The Bleeding Stone is a book excellently written, and which is really ambitious in its craft: despite the main timeline following Sen is situated in the year 1556, there is constant flashforward and backward to add more context and lore, adding an extra layer of flavour to the world.

In summary, we have an excellent debut that sets the basis for an epic trilogy focused on themes that are not usual in fantasy. I absolutely loved Lee's approach to them, and I totally recommend it to people that love alternate history (even if this is written in a secondary world), or just for people that want to read an epic fantasy story that is not afraid to touch themes such as slavery and conquest. Can't wait to get more of The Spellbinders and The Gunslingers!