scijessreads

There is something about the slow, epic fantasy novels of Martha Wells that speaks to my inner desire to immerse myself in stories that feel otherworldly and also as if they are stories of forgotten history. She manages to create worlds that you slip into easily, falling into the slowly unfolding action and being swept along a steady current. No frenetic pacing, no jump scares, no abrupt shifts into new territory. You feel as if you are watching the entire world unfold outside of a window in front of you, so close, and yet so far removed from your own life.

In the city of Charisat, there are those just trying to survive the rigid social class structure. There are also those that spend their lives learning about the Ancients, the ones that came before a great cataclysm that turned the world into scattered cities separated by great wastelands full of dangers both natural and created by man. And at the heart of it all is a delicate dance of power plays, magic, mystery, and scholastic desire.

Khat is at the nexus of these overlapping threads. A man that is not regarded as such, is relegated to working the relic trade with his partner Sagai. He ends up being roped into a plot to find and bring in artifacts that may or may not have incredible powers. During the course of his work, he is linked to Elen, a Warder with troubles all her own, and quickly sinks into a deeper mystery than anyone even realizes is going on until it is too late.

What I loved most about this book is the world-building. On every page, I could feel myself in the dusty streets of Charisat or in the vast danger that is the Waste. Everything felt real, lived in. The pacing was slow but never dragged. You are pulled along for the ride, following the tenuous breadcrumbs and wondering if anyone would make it out the victor. The small wins were often immediately overshadowed by crushing defeats. New threads of information were continually meted out, but it never felt like exposition. It all fits into the greater narrative and almost felt as if you could hear this story told over a campfire as if it were someone recalling a history of the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the eARC. All opinions are my own.