THE MAN WHO SPOKE SNAKISH, cultural juggernaut in Estonia...deserves your eyeblinks

THE MAN WHO SPOKE SNAKISH
ANDRUS KIVIRÄHK (tr. Christopher Moseley)
Black Cat/Grove Press
$11.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: The runaway Estonian bestseller tells the imaginative and moving story of a boy tasked with preserving ancient traditions in the face of modernity.

Set in a fantastical version of medieval Estonia, The Man Who Spoke Snakish follows a young boy, Leemet, who lives with his hunter-gatherer family in the forest and is the last speaker of the ancient tongue of snakish, a language that allows its speakers to command all animals. But the forest is gradually emptying as more and more people leave to settle in villages, where they break their backs tilling the land to grow wheat for their "bread" (which Leemet has been told tastes horrible) and where they pray to a god very different from the spirits worshipped in the forest's sacred grove.

With lothario bears who wordlessly seduce women, a giant louse with a penchant for swimming, a legendary flying frog, and a young charismatic viper named Ints, The Man Who Spoke Snakish is a totally inventive novel for readers of David Mitchell, Sjón, and Terry Pratchett.

I RECEIVED A COPY FROM MY SISTER AS A GIFT. THANK YOU!

My Review: Look at that list of comps! Those're huge shoes to fill. They were even huger ten years ago when this talky, slow-paced book came out.

Ten years on, how does the read hold up? I have to get rid of a lot of my books now that I'm unable to hold tree-books open any longer, and the tech aids to doing that are not usable in the tiny space I live in. So I'm revisiting a few I liked and then letting them go to new lovers.

My sister blew my mind by telling me, after I got this book from her, that our ancestry is part Estonian! I'm still in slight shock. I wonder if that's the reason I resonated on some core level to this fantastical, almost allegorical, tale of the end of the world and the birth of modernity. I'll never know but I'm leaning that way...the pace of the story is slow, builds on itself as characters...maybe the best ones not even human...sinuously glide, powerfully stomp, and ethereally appear at various times during Leemet's long defense of his doomed paradise.

In the best tradition of the fairy tale, the origin myth, Leemet's life is either impossibly long or Time isn't what we experience in our limited lives. As the relentless Germans, The Hansa in our terms, bring their crosses, their monasteries, and their god to Leemet's pagan world of bears that seduce the human women with the greatest of ease and our brother hominins who're blessed with tails. The retreating pagan world is beaten back deeper and deeper into the firest while humans chop it down to farm wheat for the Germans' awful-tasting "bread" that they feed to their monks. Leemet can't really understand the idea of "monks"—why would his fellow humabs long to be castrati to sing beautiful music for monks when snakish commands all nature to bend to Man's will? Why abandon the beautiful Ints, their viper-selves have been with humankind forever? But the pagans lose battles, endure slaughter (ethnic cleansing we'd call it if it happened now, with a side order of jihad) as their ways fall before the new world order.

Told in well-honed, pointedly crafted words, there's a sad miasma of regret in Kivirähk's tale of the essential human conflict: conquest, supplantation, genocidal destruction. There is no doubt that Kivirähk is not in favor of the new world being born, and is satirically critical of those who accept the yoke of becoming farmers for the foreigners. He satirizes the "but this is how we've always done things" crowd just as harshly, just as facetiously; the target is human nature in each snarky aside, each minatory judgment. (I'm a little anachronistic in using the sixteenth-century "minatory" but I don't know an older word for "threatening, scolding, accusing.")

I ate this story up, like the entire nation of Estonia did...it's their bestselling novel ever, there's a board game based on it, this is their country's Lord of the Rings only not so tedious. If there's anything I know about publishing, though, the failure to catch fire in the US market means it will be ten more years before we can even hope to see another Kivirähk title in translation. Too bad...this would make an *a*maz*ing* animated feature that would take Estonia and France, where its success was greater than the Anglophone world, by storm. That would've made a wide, smooth road for other works by this intense, inventive, talented world-builder.

Don't hesitate to get a copy of whatever edition you can best afford.

THE GARGOYLES OF NOTRE DAME, the French Revolution...with sentient gargoyles!

THE GARGOYLES OF NOTRE DAME
GREG WALTERS (tr. Justin Beckham)
Free on Kindle Unlimited! (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$4.99 to purchase, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: History meets Fantasy in Revolutionary France!

Paris, 1789. The soaring spires of Notre Dame conceal more than prayer and piety. Within the cathedral lies the secret of the gargoyles, mystical creatures bound by ancient magic to the aristocracy. For centuries, these stone sentinels have ensured the power of the nobility and kept the oppressed powerless.

When Henri, a 22-year-old stonemason apprentice, accidentally forges a sacred bond with one of these creatures, he shatters a tradition meant to protect only the upper class. Betrayed by the gargoyles and hunted as a traitor, Henri flees into a city teetering on the edge of revolution.

As word of his forbidden connection spreads, hope ignites among the oppressed. To the people, Henri becomes more than a fugitive. He is a symbol, proof that the chains of oppression can be broken. With cries of “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!” rising in the streets, Henri faces an impossible choice.

Will he hide from the chaos or risk everything to lead a rebellion that could reshape France forever?

Perfect for fans of The Gilded Wolves and The Night Circus, The Gargoyles of Notre Dame is an exhilarating tale of magic, rebellion, and the courage to defy destiny.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: The French Revolution plus sentient gargoyles. Sign me up.

Now, don't go gettin' all logical; this is a fantasy. It assumes that, for some reason never even lightly touched on, the French Revolution takes place as it did in our time despite aristos and royalty all having actual, sentient gargoyles in their service (Louis XVI has six of 'em!). Not as some odd innovation; not as a revolution in itself; but as an established way of marking them out as having rank.

Nothing about this makes one whit of sense, but it's cool, so run with it. Be prepared to stop, though, after a gangbusters start we begin to meander a bit. The "romance" between an adult man and a teenaged girl is squicky. Yes, that's my twenty-first century acculturation speaking. I live now, so I use now's ideas to judge things made now, and you may be sure that very much shows in the character voices. If this was a survivor of 1825 or even 1925, written about their past, that somehow reached me for the first time now, I'd be of a different opinion. It is not that. I'm squicked.

I found the gargoyles speaking in poetry a whole lot less irritating than I expected to. I screamed with rage only once! Who knows, maybe I'm finally old enough to "get" poetry. (I'm not.)

The entire exercise is, I believe, meant to be New Adult reading. I think the pacing is off for that reading segment; starting with action at full speed leads to an expectation of it staying there in less-experienced readers. It's too bad; this could easily be a good series if some detail tweaks were done.

Me, I'll stop at one. Not a bad one, so why risk leaving with a poorer opinion than my present overall positive one?

THE SECRETS OF ALABURG (Alaburg University #1) has maps and cool character art on its Ammy page!

THE SECRETS OF ALABURG (Alaburg University #1)
GREG WALTERS (tr. Patrick Moffatt)
Kindle edition (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$3.99, or free to read on Kindle Unlimited

Rating: 3* of five

The Publisher Says: A hideous beast with glowing red eyes ambushes Bryn on his way home through the forest. After a narrow escape, the sixteen-year-old must flee with his foster father Gerald to the only place that promises Âlaburg University, where humans, dwarves, elves, and orcs come together to study the Colors of Magic.

Bryn soon discovers he can use all three magical colors, which renders him powerful and dangerous at the same time. Will he learn to channel his powers with the help of his unlikely new friends and secure peace for the land, or will he become the one who spells out doom for the enlightened nations of Razuclan?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Aged-up wizarding school story but without the added transphobia that so appalls and offends me, though with forced heteronormativity...just let Bryn be a kid without a love interest!

That series wasn't the first iteration of the story, so no talk of "ripping off," please. In that case everyone owes the Mauschwitz people royalties for that revolting rodent's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" bit in 1940's Fantasia. Or the composer, Paul Dukas, of that bit owes at least a nod to Goethe for the poem from 1797; which is a nod to Classical sources that likely derive from ancient Egyptian sources. This idea, laddies and gentlewomen, does not belong to, nor was it originated by, the transphobic Scottish woman.

Thank all those useless gods.

Okay, well, that's one hobbyhorse ridden. Now why did I give the read three stars? Simple. I'm tired of this story. Let this field lie fallow a few generations. The translator from the original German, Patrick Moffatt, did an okay job. I don't know what he had to work with, but it's pretty much all "low, green armchair"s and "dust dancing in golden light beam"s level stuff. It works; it's not clunky; but I remember no specific line at all.

So a serviceable read? Yep. I resent not one minute of those five hours. I don't think I'd say yes to a DRC of #2 in the series...just not that excited. The folks who love the special-orphan-learns-magical-truth books will eat it up with a spoon. On current evidence, that's a whole huge heap of y'all. PLUS there's seven of 'em and the series is completed!

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a massive fan of this plot. Earthsea thrilled me as a ten-year-old; the transphobic woman's book had to be read due to FOMO; other than that I'm a resolute take it or leave it guy fatigued into resistance by ubiquity. YMMV, and most likely will, so give it a whirl. It's low risk for these prices, and free on KU means you're really not risking anything except time.

THE STORMLESS SERIES: Stormless #1 & The Fire King #2

STORMLESS (Stormless #1)
NICK STITLE
Blazecrest Publishing (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$6.99 Kindle edition,available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The world you are about to enter is very different from the one you know.

Auris is a place of storms and chaos where seven violent Tempests rule the land, wreaking havoc across the continent. Only the Summoners, bearers of powers not unlike those of the divine Tempests themselves, have the strength to stand against the tyranny of the storms. Society depends upon the enigmatic Summoner-empowering Crystals for survival... Yet when a Summoner bearing powers that should not exist appears on Arvendon’s doorstep, the world begins spiraling into chaos.

Castien Varic, a common soldier, finds himself in the throes of a coming war. He embarks on a mission with the most legendary of Auris’s Summoners, hoping to discover the truth behind the resurfacing of the Ancient Summoner.

Faelyn Titansworn, heir to the largest of Auris’s empires and one of the most powerful Summoners in the world, finds himself lost in his father’s shadow. When a conspiracy threatens to destroy all that he knows and loves, Faelyn takes it upon himself to save not just his kingdom, but all of Auris.

Asteros Silverglade bears the powers of a god. Two years in the past, he, along with five others of his Sect, uncover the hidden secrets that the world has tried to erase. Yet they soon learn that the mysteries of the baffling event known as the Vanishing—the war that somehow caused over half of Auris’s Summoners to disappear without a trace—run far deeper than they could’ve ever imagined.

These three heroes walk the threads of fate, together weaving an epic tale of magic, war, love, and loss. Together these individuals will forever change Auris’s future. Empires will shatter, Tempests will be Unbound, but destiny will prevail as these heroes face their fated ends.

This is Stormless.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: First novels usually have issues...this one has mostly fantasy-novel ones. Male characters predominate, and they are the ones we get to know. The female characters, therefore, are there to dress the stage up for the males...sadly all too typical in most genres, especially Chosen One fantasy narratives like this. The author, as a counterweight to this, understands pacing quite well. He uses the templates of fantasy that are well known and well developed. This is not a knock, since there really is little reason to mess with a generations-old template unless you have to. Many others do not bother to do so, and they have far less command of their material than Author Stitle does.

And now a word about our author: He is all of seventeen. For someone that age to have the fluency and the grasp of the mechanics of storytelling that he does is *remarkable*. If you need a good reason to read this particular fantasy novel, there it is. Will you come away from the read enlightened and changed by the power of the storytelling? No. Will you be entertained for the trip you take with these dudebros through Auris?

Fantasy fans surely will. I came to this read expecting to be annoyed and frustrated, but willing to try because someone seventeen does not lightly just write a novel. I was ready to applaud him for doing this difficult task, but criticize his output. Here I am, not his natural reader, saying you should give this book your time.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE FIRE KING (Stormless #2)
NICK STITLE
Blazecrest Publishing (non-affiliate Amazon link)
$6.99 Kindle edition, available now

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Immediately following the shocking events of the Solstice, Castien Varic finds himself forced to leave his home city for good. With an unlikely team, Castien sets off for the city of Celes, hoping to find an explanation for Ilyana’s betrayal.

Arvendon’s crown falls to a grieving Faelyn Titansworn as the young king grapples with his father’s death. At the guidance of the treacherous Illusomancer Eithor, Faelyn travels to Cyfalion in a misguided attempt at revenge.

Finally, the Emissary shows Asteros Silverglade the secret histories of Auris, revealing that there is far more to the continent’s past than Asteros had believed.

The Fire King brings the Stormless Series to new heights, elevating the stakes and bringing Auris to life like never before. Surprising twists and riveting action sequences build toward two spectacular battles involving all of Auris’s greatest forces. The world of Stormless will evolve in unimaginable ways, forever changing the rest of the series.

This is The Fire King

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Literally picks up where the previous book leaves off. Feels more like one long book simply cut in half, in which case I say good decision! This afforded me the chance to rest between battles. This is a thing that the characters get little chance to do.

We are still within the male-dominated narrative of Western European high fantasys Chosen One plot. Betrayal, sadness, and loss are the dominant modes for most of the book. I think it bears repeating that Author Stitle is a seventeen-year-old writing sensitively and well about heavy, hard topics that many much older can do less with than he does. This is very impressive inner-directed writing, given the general trope of fantasy for tormented heroes. These men grieve realistically.

Still fully within genre conventions, though. Nothing breaks the mold...but it does not need to when it is molded so well.

A new fantasy author is born. Try him out.