Fantasy Novella Review: Breath of Dust & Dawn by L Penelope

 

Breath of Dust & Dawn by L Penelope:

Breath of Dust & Dawn is the first of L Penelope's spinoff novellas from her Earthsinger Chronicles epic/romantic fantasy series.  The novella is a prequel story with a framing device takes place after book 1 (Song of Blood and Stone), in which one of the protagonists of that book (Jack) tells the story of how he met Darvyn, one of the protagonists of book 2 (Whispers of Shadow & Flame) and book 3.  But really what it is a short murder mystery set in a refugee camp after a war, with refugees murdered and people both in and outside of the camp as suspects, and a lot of distrust.  

It's nothing special, and certainly nothing that will be of interest to anyone who hasn't read the main series, but if you enjoyed the series, or even just book 1 or 2, you'll find this an enjoyable prequel story to read.  

Quick Plot Summary: Jasminda, now Queen Jasminda, finds herself struggling to deal with her new role as Queen, and her need to manage both her new Elsiran subjects and the Lagrimari refugees now living among them.  After a frustrating day, she finds comfort in Jack, who decides to tell her a story about when he was the army's young High Commander, a story about the time he met his friend, the earthsinger Darvyn.  

It's a tale of murder and prejudice, as Jack found himself investigating a murder in a camp for Lagrimari left behind after the last closing of the mantle, a murder that none of the bigoted Elsirans seem to care about, and for which anyone might be a suspect....a murder investigation made trickier by the seemingly bull-headed Darvyn working alongside him.....

Thoughts:   Breath of Dust & Dawn is an at times predictable and at other times at least familiar murder mystery.  Jack, a privileged young man with a good heart, is forced to investigate a murder alongside the refugee Darvyn, who is well aware of how is people are hated and taken advantage of in this camp, just for trying to live.  Of course the refugees aren't all good people either, with the first person murdered winding up being a monstrous man all the refugees hated, leading to plenty of suspects, and plenty of time for Jack and Darvyn to butt heads - Jack preaching patience in his investigation, while Darvyn is the hot headed quick to accuse, aided by his ability to sense when people are lying, but not quite about what.  

Still, the familiarity of it all is because it works, and the story and the conclusion comes together nicely.  I'm not sure if the culprit is really guessable from the clues, but it fits the story and the themes of this series as continued from book 1 through book 4.  An enjoyable novella diversion if you enjoyed this series in general, even if it doesn't really add anything.