Synopsis
A LAND DIVIDED. A HISTORY INKED IN BLOOD. ONE SORCERESS’S QUEST FOR ANSWERS.
The world beyond the City of the Wise is fraught with danger. But Fola, a talented sorceress who has left the safety of its walls, is unconcerned. She’s on the hunt for magical remnants left behind by the First Folk – ancient beings who are but the whisper of a memory. Only by finding them might she uncover the secret to their power and a way to pull the riven lands out of the darkness.
Danger lies ahead for Fola, however she feels about it. And when events conspire to drag her into a cursed kingdom to investigate the death of its king, she’s soon faced by threats from both the living and the dead.
Fola will need to rely on her wits, her magic and her unlikely friends if she’s going to survive. But there is always hope, no matter how dark things get. And three things remain true, above all else.
Fellowship is stronger than isolation.
The past will come back to haunt you.
Nothing stays secret forever.
Review
Fantasy books that make you think and ponder and philosophise will always be something I’m drawn to.
Fola is a sorceress from the City of the Wise where no suffering or true death exists. She is travelling to further her research in the disappeared First Folk.
This leads her to investigate the death of a king in a cursed kingdom. To save the kingdom and Prince from a haunting and a looming invasion, Fola navigates political intrigue among the living and confront threats from both the living and the dead.
Without real suffering, could anyone know real comfort? Could mortalkind develop a real capacity to care for one another?
This isn’t centered on just Fola though, we also get her wonder and capacity for hope and compassion contrasted with Llewyn, a gwyddien, One Born of Trees, who carries the shadows with him, a power given in return for obedience to the Grey Lady.
When he rescues a young girl, he soon becomes a father figure to her and must reckon with danger, fear, and what makes a family.
I haven’t even mentioned the Mortal Church that is trying to rid the world of magic. Or the four-armed guard who escorts Fola, or Fola’s bird called Frog who carries her soul.
All demand justice, but when pressed, few can define it. Blood for blood, a life for a life? Pain returned in kind? But can we collect every drop of spilled blood in measuring cups, to ensure repayment in full, and no more? Have we some definite measure for pain, that we may return to the criminal only as much as he meted out? To say nothing of assigning guilt.
The intriguing cast of characters means that we can see varying outlooks on the world.
What happens when you have someone who has been sacrificed over and over for others collide with someone who comes from a place where obligation, power, money doesn’t exist?
The magic system is also interesting where belief fuels your power. Whilst the ramifications of this were only touched on, I am sure we will get more in future instalments.
There were so many quotes of wisdom, or ideas that will linger. That’s what I always enjoy about more challenging fantasy.
For the comfortable to be kind was simple. Far more challenging–far better–to find comfort among the wretched.
According to the author’s note, this series will consist of:
Standalone novels connected by setting and common themes, only loosely bound together by plot, and only occasionally (even accidentally) by character.
Whilst I did have a few questions left and felt cheated by a time jump to the epilogue, I did find it fairly satisfying.
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