Friday, July 24, 2020

Short Book Reviews: From Sacrifice to Assassin


The Unspoken Name, by A. K. Larkwood (Tor)

I kept thinking of the worlds of Tolkien as I read this long, rich book. It seemed to be a series of related novels, each arc coming to a not-quite-resting place. The many worlds, linked by portals, were are much the focus as the characters themselves…until all the story threads were gathered together and then entire tapestry pattern emerged. I didn’t love every character or every world, but I was right with Csorwe, every step of the way.

“The Unspoken Name” refers to one of the many gods that inhabit the disparate worlds, in this case one whose name must never be uttered. Girls are brought to this god’s temple to study and serve in the hopes that one of them will become the Bride of the God, gifted with prophecy, living a pampered if drug-soaked life until she’s sacrificed in her fourteenth year. Csorwe is one such, fully prepared to die . . . until Belthandros Sethennai, a wizard who has petitioned her for answers, interrupts her journey to death with a question of his own: Do you want to die? Or do you want to come with me and create your own destiny?

Instead of complying with expectations, she runs away with him, accepts his training in martial arts, among other things, and ultimately becomes his bodyguard and hired assassin as he seeks to wrest control of his city from his usurper rival. That’s the initial movement in this many-act drama.

I loved that many of the characters aren’t human, Csorwe for example. She’s more orc-like, with “grey skin, grey freckles, yolk-yellow eyes, an overgrown mop of black hair,” … and tusks. Nobody from other races cares particularly. They just shrug and say, “She’s from Oshaar,” one of the many realms linked through the Serpent Gates. How great is that?

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