to be published 31/05/2022…
Els always knew that she wanted to be a Listener, that she wanted to dedicate herself to keeping her village safe from the catamounts. She certainly never wanted to marry. Until an illness took her hearing from her, took her vocation from her. Until the choice was marriage or banishment.
Samuel was raised to be a Hunter, to dedicate his life to protecting his village. He was going to marry the girl he loved and one day take over from his father as Chief Hunter. Until an accident took his foot from him. Until he could no longer hunt and the girl he loved walked away.
Both are considered damaged goods by their village. Both are haunted by the life they should have had. Both are struggling to adjust to the life that is left for them. Neither of them wanted this marriage, but together they may just be able to save their village after all.
The most striking thing about this book is the magnetic dynamic between two characters who have been forced together by circumstance, but quickly come to realise that they have more in common than they could have ever imagined. This creates a tension throughout which dips and rises in waves with the characters’ turbulent emotions.
The world it is set in is simplistic, with the main complexity stemming from the rich symbolism and well-established traditions. Each character interacts differently with these traditions, creating an immersive depth to the community. The monsters they fight are also simple. It is the history behind the catamounts and the rituals that have evolved around them which give them true shape and fear.
So much fantasy fiction is built to epic proportions that I kept expecting there to be a catch, something larger to overshadow the simplicity of men fighting beasts. However, it turns out that it was the simplicity of the novel that kept it so engaging. There were no twists and turns to confuse me, little world-building to be distracted by, and few subplots to get lost in. As I read, I could simply focus on the relationship between the two main characters and the quest that they were embarking on.
Escape to the Bookshelf 