Synopsis
When Aster Rutherford, the postmaster’s son and his childhood friend, Zinnia Hollyhock deliver a letter to the Pelware Mines, they are attacked by a birdlike monster that turns men to stone. Even worse, Buckwheat Village is plagued by an illness that’s incapacitating villagers, including Aster’s own father.
A chance encounter with Kara Reeves, the brash quartermaster of the Blue Skies, leads Aster to hitch a ride to the capital city in search of a doctor. Aster’s quest takes him from the dizzying spires of New Portsmith to the caves of Munayallpa and the forests of Tembour. Along the way Aster reconnects with his estranged mother and comes face-to-face with the god of a foreign land. Can Aster and the crew of the Blue Skies overcome pirates, politics, and monsters to cure Buckwheat Village before it’s too late?
Review
The Odyllic Stone is a debut fantasy novel by Alex Scheuermann, and I found myself reminded of other well-regarded classic fantasy novels. If you are a fan of Ursula K. Le Guinn or early Robin Hobb, I think you will find a lot to like here.
The concept is familiar—a tragedy befalls a village and a young man needs to undertake a quest to save his loved ones. And while this novel takes that route to start, it quickly evolves into intersecting plot lines and a wide cast of characters.
I particularly liked the sense of exploration and coming-of-age found in the early parts of this story. There is an earnestness to this book that a lot of modern fantasy lacks. Too often, books are jaded by what came before and try to reinvent the wheel. The Odyllic Stone revels in its heritage, drawing upon the best that fantasy has to offer us—gods, artifacts, pirates, betrayal, and more.
This is a world with a variety of monsters, multiple unique nations, characters that have deep backstories, and the threat of powerful magic that will challenge the characters’ perspectives. Of particular interest was Peter, a character that seems like a level-headed sailor, and turns out to have more to him than meets the eye. The same could be said for Aster, Calantha, and Fletcher, but I don’t want to spoil the adventure.
For a relatively short book, it is amazing what the author was able to pack in. The characters are all given ample room to breathe and the world feels old without relying on unnecessary info dumps or slowing the pace. A lot of the rehashing takes place in letters sent by the characters placed at the end of the chapters, and there often is vital information about what is happening and the motivations of the characters, specifically the main character, Aster.
That brings me to my main criticism of the novel. Though the writing is consistently well done, the pacing struggles due to the length of the chapters. The chapters are very long and a lot happens during each of them, often with changes in scene or POV. It may seem like an odd gripe, but I think the narrative would have been served well with shorter chapters and less shifting POV.
But other than that, this is a fun ride. I really enjoyed my time with it, and this is CERTAINLY a book that needs more love.
So what are you waiting for? Go buy it. Start your adventure and remake the world in your own image.
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