The Keeper's Six, by Kate Elliott (Tordotcom)
I’m an unabashed fan of stories featuring kick-ass older
women. My favorites include The Stone War by Madeleine E. Robins and
Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population. Now I add The Keeper's Six, by Kate
Elliott. The story opens with middle-aged Esther getting a frantic, cut-off
phone call from her adult son, Daniel. It turns out to be every mother’s
nightmare: He’s been kidnapped. Only this is not the mundane world and Daniel’s
kidnapper turns out to be a dragon lord who lives in an island of stable reality
in the midst of the non-real, ever-shifting, fatally treacherous Beyond where
Dark is deadly but Bright daylight is even more so. Esther is not without
resources. Although they are on temporary suspension by the Powers-That-Be, she
is a member of a Hex, a five-person magical team, a combination freelance fortune
hunters and SWAT team. Their sixth member is Daniel, Keeper to the Keep (a
bungalow on Oahu where Daniel’s partner and their quadruplet toddlers live)
that provides passage and anchor between ordinary reality to the Beyond. After
some persuasion, for Esther is responsible for the suspension and hence not in
the Hex’s good graces, she convinces them to track down Daniel and rescue him,
whatever it takes. Daniel, meanwhile, has been organizing the dragon lord’s servants
to demand better working conditions through collective bargaining while
whipping up heavenly pastries.
The story is by turns dramatic, thriller-tense, full of
reversals and plot twists, inventive in both world-building and character
development, touching, and funny. (I love the idea of magically indentured
servants going on strike.) And a sweet could-be-love story. Elliott pulls off
the difficult feat of weaving in backstory and innovative world-building
without losing the dramatic movement of the opening scenes. It’s a stand-alone,
self-contained gem. I expect fans will clamor for a sequel or five. The
Keeper’s Six is so perfect, I hope she resists.
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