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 reminded me of classics like Treasure Island, with its pirates, explorers, and treasure hunts. We are also treated to some unique or seldom-seen magical creatures.
Aster dreams of going on an adventure that will also allow him to help his ailing father, who is one of several people in Buckwheat Village suffering from an inexplicable illness. We meet Aster and his friend, Zinnia, while they are navigating the nearby Pelware Mines. A surprise encounter with a cockatrice is the first in a series of events that will set Aster off on that adventure he’s been hoping for. Travel is less attractive to Zinnia, whose duties in her father’s shop and past traumas cause her to stay behind. We are privy to the letters Aster writes to her while he is away.
The crew of the Blue Skies and other intriguing characters join Aster on a journey that takes him across seas, to cities, through deserts, and to foreign lands where he reunites with someone he hasn’t seen in years. He hopes to find a doctor in Benia who would be willing to come back to treat the villagers of Buckwheat. However bureaucracy greatly complicates this mission, sending Aster on many more sub quests. One of the positives of these twists and turns is that we get to meet delightful side characters like Chert, a silent and observant man from Munayallpa. Chert’s comrades initially underestimate him, but he quickly proves to know a lot more than he lets on. Calanthe is also full of surprises. A dreamy intellectual who drifts through the story, she is invaluable in a crisis and thoroughly entertaining.
The pacing doesn’t let up in the middle. Characters cover a lot of ground but don’t necessarily accomplish all that they set out to do. In fact there are some setbacks. Aster comes across as a true teenage boy, which meant that he greatly vexed me at times (especially when his more thoughtless actions impacted other people). I also worried for him. We get a few other POVs, like Zinnia’s, Kara’s, Chert’s and Tristram’s. They’re not separated by chapter (the chapters of this book are fairly long) but by scene break. I liked that journeys weren’t unnecessarily drawn out over many pages. Days of uneventful travel are neatly summarised in a few sentences. Still, I would have liked a few more moments of reflection amidst all the activity.
Conflicts and supernatural occurrences become more frequent as the book progresses. The author handles suspense very well, and we quickly learn that even the kindly friends of our protagonists aren’t always safe. There are also some lingering mysteries involving elemental gods, tattoos, a butterfly and a chalice that dispenses little-known historical facts in a most unusual way. I couldn’t set aside the ebook for long towards the end – few members of the cast make it that far unchanged.
The Odyllic Stone is a terrific adventure story that takes a few dark turns as it sets up what will surely be a thrilling series.
Leave a Reply