Synopsis
Synopsis
Kill the beast.
Earn some coin.
Get the girl.
Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to go. Kova of Stormwatch made a promise when she left her mother and sweetheart weeping on the shore back she’d earn her fortune slaying the beasts that haunt the woods and the horrors that lurk in the shadows, or she would die trying. But to do that, she needs an apprenticeship with a master monster hunter. The best of the Sayre Boarbane.
Pity that Sayre works alone.
When Sayre drags Kova home by the ear, they’re both in for a rude awakening. Kova’s mother? Missing. Kova’s lover? Taking long walks on the beach with a stranger.
And all those monsters Kova wanted to slay? They’re back in Stormwatch, dragging villagers into the ocean.
Review
Fortune’s Wake is a tightly packed monster-hunting novella with a lot of heart beneath its teeth.
Kova of Stormwatch left home with a simple plan: slay beasts, earn coin, get the girl. Instead, she failed to secure an apprenticeship with the legendary Sayre Boarbane, and when she’s dragged back to Stormwatch, she finds her mother missing, her ex-girlfriend distant, and the very monsters she dreamed of hunting now pulling villagers into the sea. It’s a setup that moves fast and hits hard.
The worldbuilding is one of the novella’s greatest strengths. Clark creates a coastal setting that feels alive with danger and folklore, populated by sea creatures and supernatural horrors that are genuinely unsettling and creatively imagined. The island of Stormwatch has a texture and atmosphere that makes you want to explore every dark corner of it, and the lore surrounding its creatures is the kind of thing that lingers after you’ve finished reading. There’s a quality here that evokes the feeling of stepping into a Witcher short story or booting up Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, that same sense of adventure and mystery unfolding in a world that feels much larger than the pages contain.
Kova and Sayre are a great pair. Kova is stubborn, impulsive, and deeply motivated by the complicated love she has for the people she left behind. Sayre is the gruff, sarcastic lone wolf who struggles with vulnerability, a set of traits that Clark writes with real understanding and depth. Their dynamic carries the story and both characters grow in meaningful ways despite the novella’s compact length. The morally grey edges of the cast add further richness; even the antagonist operates from motivations you can understand, if not condone.
The mother-daughter relationship at the story’s core is one of its most compelling threads. It’s strained, complicated, and deeply felt, the kind of familial tension that will resonate with anyone who has loved someone difficult. Clark gives it the weight it deserves without letting it slow down the action.
If the novella has a limitation, it’s simply one of length. The relationship between Kova and her ex, Ta’aliya, could have benefited from more room to breathe. We understand the yearning but don’t always feel the full depth of what was lost. Some of the side characters and their motivations also feel slightly compressed by the format. But these are the natural tradeoffs of a novella, and Clark makes the most of every page she has.
The pacing is well handled, the action scenes are visceral and tense, and Clark’s prose paints vivid, immersive imagery throughout. This feels like the beginning of something larger, and I’d happily follow Kova and Sayre on whatever comes next.
Fortune’s Wake is a dark, atmospheric, emotionally grounded adventure. If you’re looking for badass monster hunters, haunting sea folklore, complicated women, and a story that packs a real punch in a short space, this one’s well worth your time.
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