Thursday, March 12, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood




The Unspoken Name is the first in a new epic fantasy series by debut author A.K. Larkwood, and one that has gotten a lot of hype from authors and sources I trust.  Believe it or not, I don't usually search out Epic Fantasy as a subgenre - it requires often a ton of commitment, and when done poorly can leave you very unsatisfied as a result (especially since the subgenre is rarely done in less than a three book series).  And if I feel mixed on the first book in an epic fantasy series, it's hard for me to decide to give the series another book to win me over due to the usual length and complications involved.  So I have a high bar for epic fantasy.....but fortunately, The Unspoken Name definitely met that bar.

The Unspoken Name's tagline is a pretty easy sell - the story of an Orc "Priestess" turned into a Wizard's "Assassin".....but it doesn't do justice to what we have here, the story of what is essentially an Orc girl, taken from a destiny of being sacrificed to one of becoming the agent of a mysterious and ambitious wizard, all the while finding out more about herself and what there is for her in this strange universe.  It's a setting that may be similar to other epic fantasies - there are cults, empires, gods of death and dangerous religions! - but it's executed so well that I found myself incredibly drawn in, with a tremendous lead character and excellent surrounding cast.  Oh and there's some slow burn queer romance here too, I shouldn't forget to mention.  I'll definitely be back for the second book in this series, whether it features the same main character or not.


--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
Csorwe, an Osharu girl raised in the House of Silence, has known her destiny for all her life: she is the Chosen Bride of the Unspoken One, destined to enter his Shrine at age 14 as a sacrifice....and to never come out again.  But when a Tlaanthothei Wizard named Belthandros Sethennai comes to the House in her final days, he offers her a new destiny: come with him instead as he aims to restore himself to his throne and searches for a legendary artifact, lost centuries ago throughout the worlds.  And for the first time in her life, Csorwe makes a choice in her own fate - to serve him and become the tool he needs for his purposes, whether that requires spying, thieving, or killing.

Years later, Csorwe is one of Sethennai's best weapons, and with her rival and companion takes on a quest to finally obtain the artifact her master has sought for all these years.  But others seek the artifact as well, including a woman from Csorwe's past, a woman who has a desperate desire to take Sethennai down a notch.  Csorwe will be forced to work with new and strange allies to try and accomplish her mission, but these allies will force herself to question once again everything about her new role in life.

But once again, Csorwe's choices will change all of the worlds forever and Gods, Wizards, and Empires will desperately seek to control her or, if that's not possible, to stop her at any cost.....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's hard to write a plot summary of an epic fantasy novel without spoiling, and the above is no exception - for example, while I try to hint at where this book goes above without spoiling, the Amazon book summary just doesn't bother describing anything out of the plot of the first quarter of the book, and that's a pretty valid choice.  Still, however you describe it, this is Csorwe's book, as she moves from a child destined to die to a young woman desperate to pay back her debt to the one who saved her to a woman who questions exactly what purpose she now serves and what (and who) it is she truly desires.  That said, the book is told from third person perspectives of the various characters, usually Csorwe, but others get significant time as well, particularly Tal, Csorwe's rival and companion agent (rival is the wrong word, but there isn't really a better one) for Sethennai.

This narrative works extremely well to create a cast that is well developed and three dimensional and are well....interesting to read about.  As you might imagine, Csorwe (she's the orc mentioned in the tagline by the way, but that word is never used in the book) herself is a fantastic character, a girl who grows more and more resourceful and quick thinking as she grows in Sethennai's service, but has been ingrained from birth to serve a master, and finds it difficult to aim herself at any other purpose.  Of course, she finds other interests coming up - particularly a personal/romantic interest - and her struggle to reconcile her need to serve and personal needs is really well done, and guides the plot forward after a first act where her service isn't in question - just whether she'll survive it.  Again her resourcefulness as she infiltrates mercenary strongholds and the temples of supposedly dead gods is really great, and that combined with her character arc will make you rooting for her like any main character you might find in an epic fantasy.

But the other characters are also excellently done.  The most developed other than Csorwe, and the one who gets the most other time in his perspective I think is Tal, whose first encounter with Csorwe fends in betrayal....yet who later becomes Csorwe's fellow agent for Sethennai.  But whereas Csorwe thinks she serves solely to pay off a debt and can't think otherwise, Tal serves because he desires Sethennai - and especially dreams that that desire be mutual, rather than just a physical thing, and it leads him to increasingly reckless actions as he finds more and more that desire not being returned.  You'd think his antagonism with Csorwe would make you hate him, but really it somehow doesn't.  Then there's Shuthmili, the young Qarsazh woman who like Csorwe has known her destiny forever - as a mage of the Traitor god of her people, she is to essentially have her mind subsumed in a collective as soon as possible - a death from Csorwe's perspective in another name.  We never actually see through Shuthmili's perspective, but you can see through others how her perspective shifts through Csorwe's actions, and the two make a terrific pairing, as troubled as they each are by the idea.

All these characters, and I could go on and on here so I won't, in habit a setting that is truly well done, an essential multiverse of worlds, connected by a maze of echoes, dominated by empires and gods of tremendous power, etc etc.  Magic is wielded by individuals tying themselves to a patron entity - usually a god - and inflicts great wear upon the wielder, causing death or worse with reckless use.  And this setting forms the basis for a plot that takes Csorwe on her journey between Empires, powerful individuals, and Gods themselves, all of whom have their own desires for the state of this multiverse - a plot that twists and turns in satisfying and terrific ways.  If I have any complaints at all of the book, it's that book sets up certain plot threads that aren't resolved by the end and seem a bit implausible - the type of masterminding plot that requires someone to survive who likely won't - but it's still justifiable, and I'm sure those plot threads will come to roost in the sequel(s).

So yeah, great characters, a fascinating plot twisty epic fantasy plot, a great setting.....this book is fantastic.  Definitely recommended.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)