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A review by midici
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
3.0
*3.5 stars, spoilers*
The gorgeous cover artwork is what caught my eye first. Second, the realization that the main character is an orc (technically 'Oshaaru' in this world) which I thought would be a interesting change from most fantasy books. Third - I love books that start with maps but I did not understand what I was looking at on my first glance. It was pieces of a map? Being put together? But no, it was much better than that - in this book there are multiple worlds connected by Gates and travel between worlds (and through the Maze of dead worlds that lies between) is super common. The strange map at the beginning is actually bits and pieces of maps from different worlds connected through Gates!
One of the reasons this isn't quite a 4 star book for me is that it seems like the author has such a rich and interesting world to play with and I feel like I barely scratched the surface of it. I would have loved to take more time fleshing out the worlds Csorwe went to.
Other species included elves (Tlaanthothe) and Qarzashi. The magic system it sets up is interesting. All mages gain magic from a god, and thus are bound to that god's power. So followers of the Unspoken one have necromantic abilities that other mages would not have. But travel away from your patron - say into a different world - and maybe you don't have access to your power without help and preparation (a neat limitation, I thought). Also the mages constantly reference that channeling divine power is draining and most mages burn out fairly young.
Plot-wise, I enjoyed it, mostly. Some parts were very vivid and fleshed out, and other aspects were very off-screen. Csorwe's transformation from pampered sacrifice to badass fighter happens almost completely off-screen and didn't feel quite genuine. That said, the interactions between characters really drove this novel. Csorwe's and Tal's deep, unending hatred of each other, complete with Tal's little notes telling her to go die in a sewer were hilarious. Csorwe's initial meeting with Shuthmili was basically a wonderful "oh no, she's hot" meet cute. The strange, dying worlds and lost gods were great.
I think the part that was the best was Csorwe's realization that Shuthmili was falling into the same trap she was raised in, in which your world - its culture, people, and gods - are telling you that the only thing of value you have to offer is your death, and in your death providing power to other people. The importance of freedom of choice, of deciding for yourself what is worth living for, or dying for, was something the pair of them had to work towards together; which I loved.
I did not realize this was part of a series until I actually got to the end, so I guess I'll have to go look up the sequel sometime soon.
The gorgeous cover artwork is what caught my eye first. Second, the realization that the main character is an orc (technically 'Oshaaru' in this world) which I thought would be a interesting change from most fantasy books. Third - I love books that start with maps but I did not understand what I was looking at on my first glance. It was pieces of a map? Being put together? But no, it was much better than that - in this book there are multiple worlds connected by Gates and travel between worlds (and through the Maze of dead worlds that lies between) is super common. The strange map at the beginning is actually bits and pieces of maps from different worlds connected through Gates!
One of the reasons this isn't quite a 4 star book for me is that it seems like the author has such a rich and interesting world to play with and I feel like I barely scratched the surface of it. I would have loved to take more time fleshing out the worlds Csorwe went to.
Other species included elves (Tlaanthothe) and Qarzashi. The magic system it sets up is interesting. All mages gain magic from a god, and thus are bound to that god's power. So followers of the Unspoken one have necromantic abilities that other mages would not have. But travel away from your patron - say into a different world - and maybe you don't have access to your power without help and preparation (a neat limitation, I thought). Also the mages constantly reference that channeling divine power is draining and most mages burn out fairly young.
Plot-wise, I enjoyed it, mostly. Some parts were very vivid and fleshed out, and other aspects were very off-screen. Csorwe's transformation from pampered sacrifice to badass fighter happens almost completely off-screen and didn't feel quite genuine. That said, the interactions between characters really drove this novel. Csorwe's and Tal's deep, unending hatred of each other, complete with Tal's little notes telling her to go die in a sewer were hilarious. Csorwe's initial meeting with Shuthmili was basically a wonderful "oh no, she's hot" meet cute. The strange, dying worlds and lost gods were great.
I think the part that was the best was Csorwe's realization that Shuthmili was falling into the same trap she was raised in, in which your world - its culture, people, and gods - are telling you that the only thing of value you have to offer is your death, and in your death providing power to other people. The importance of freedom of choice, of deciding for yourself what is worth living for, or dying for, was something the pair of them had to work towards together; which I loved.
I did not realize this was part of a series until I actually got to the end, so I guess I'll have to go look up the sequel sometime soon.