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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content warnings: parental abuse, emotional abuse, blood, death, alcohol consumption, kidnapping, mentions of famine, xenophobia, discrimination, bigotry
Born in a family of soothsayers, Kalyna’s is the daughter whose generation got skipped over and her grandmother will never let her forget it. When her father has a vision of the fall of the Tetarchia, the quadruple kingdoms and the king needs a soothsayer, it’s up to her tell whatever lies it takes to save her family and the rest of the country.
This book has everything interesting to me: deep sarcasm, compelling characters, Eastern Europe-inspired world-building, and so much fraud.
This truly is the book of all time for me. It’s a complex fantasy world full of Eastern European historical influences and sensibilities, but also the gut-wrench that comes with relatives who are practical to the point of cruelty. Kalyna’s relationship with her grandmother felt uncomfortably close to read, but Spector gets that dynamic so right. He carefully outlines the values of family and why Kalyna might not be so selfishly compelled to throw her family away. The fact that there is so much nuance given to what her idea of survival is, that it isn’t as simple as her preserving her own life. It’s complex and I’m still thinking about it several months later.
The presentation of the world-building and plot in motions also worked for me. Each interlude has a point and adds to the readers’ understanding of the Tetarchia, especially as alliances become tenuous and new motives come to fruition. The Gift is very much magic, but there is a mythology around other fantastical elements that suggest a much broader world that, despite her encyclopedic knowledge, Kalyna has no reason to know all the ins and outs of. The fact that she herself learns more about the different regions and cultures as she encounters people from there is such a neat trick to imply the existence of a wider world.
Which leads us into the political intrigue. It seems that when three characters are in a room together, there are four different agendas at play. The only instances of confusion were deliberate deflection, and that alone needs to be studied under a microscope. It was rad seeing Kalyna manage to talk her way out of any situation without activating the most harm is so masterful. She’s by no means a kind protagonist, but she’s not a bitch either, which is such a difficult balance to strike when her default setting in almost every and any situation is to lie and spin yarns. This book makes great use of interiority so that the reader is also kept abreast of the truth, even if everyone around Kalyna is only getting bits and pieces.
I’ve already volunteered myself to blurb the sequel, Kalyna the Cutthroat (out November 26, 2024) because I cannot wait to see more of the Tetarchia and the newer situations.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a story of being forced to lie in order to survive, and dealing with the complications of the lies - and other situations - you get forced into, while trying to do the best for yourself and for those around you - and sometimes being forced to choose between those. Kalyna is a character who is both flawed and likeable, and while it took me a few chapters/scenes to get drawn in, once the book had its claws in me, I was completely hooked. Not only did I want to know what happened with Kalyna, i came to care about numerous other characters, each with their own distinct personality, and I even managed to be drawn into the complicated politics - a thing I often find boring in books. Overall, an enjoyable read.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Lovely book with somewhat more political intrigue than I was expecting (not a bad thing, it's done well). Interesting writing style and voice and a thoroughly likeable main character who does mostly reasonable things and it still quite interesting, which feels like a rarity sometimes. Definitely recommend if you've got the time to get through it.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25 stars★★★★☆
**I was provided with an ARC from Erewhon Books and Netgalley for an honest review**
This book is out now!!
☞ Trigger warnings: **contains spoilers*
Spoiler
ableism, abusive relationships, alcohol consumption, animal death, banishment, beating, blackmail, blood depiction, body modification, captivity & confinement, chronic medical conditions, child abuse, classism, colourism, conscription, dead bodies & body parts, death of a parent, death of a friend, decapitation, drowning, drugging, emotional abuse, gentrification, grief & loss depiction, gun violence, homelessness, homomisia, hostage situation, indentured servitude, imprisonment & incarceration, infertility themes, intrusive thoughts, kidnapping, knife violence, loss of autonomy, loss of limb, mass murder (attempted), medical treatment, memory disorder, misogyny, murder & attempted murder, persecution for witchcraft, physical abuse and assault, physical injuries, physical medical conditions, poisoning (attempted), poverty themes, queermisia, racism, refugee experiences, regicide, scars, sexism, torture, verbal abuse, war themes & military violence, xenophobia.
✿ Representation present: queer rep (two main characters are queer), disability rep, poc representation, chronic illness rep.
Kalyna is a con artist. With a degeneratively ill father and an emotionally and verbally abusive grandmother, Kalyna is the sole breadwinner for her family. The fact that she doesn't have the gift of seeing the future doesn't stop her from telling the future to unsuspecting paying customers. Too get by she makes generalisations, she pays informants for information and makes elaborate showings to pull off this long con. If it doesn't come true, then that's fine because she and her family will be gone, off to a new place, conning new people.
Kalyna is a witty character, with a cynical pessimistic perspective. She has seen the full range of all humanity has to offer through her travels and soothsaying. People have not treated her and her family well. She is always fleeing towns and cities to avoid harassment and persecution for 'witchcraft'. She has been threatened and beaten, bullied and oppressed. Her life is always at risk.
Kalyna goes and gets herself kidnapped (or according to her handler, conscripted) by a Prince. She is tasked with ferreting out the ones looking to harm the royal family with her alleged soothsaying gift. She knows this con will be the riskiest one yet. This should be a cushy job, acting as a fake soothsayer but nothing is ever so simple and being a fake psychic is a lot more demanding especially with her family's lives held against her and the impending end of the world.
Unfortunately, Kalyna's father has also foreseen the end of everything.The four nations will buckle under this impending danger, devolving into a lawless land of destruction with no where safe from its devastation. Kalyna is stuck in a rock and hard place. All she wants is her freedom and to survive what's coming. To do that, she must play ball, act as the soothsayer for the Prince and figure out how to get her family and herself out safely of the Tetrarchia before it all goes to hell.
"What was certainly not comforting was the fact that this job for a sybaritic prince was not going to be the greatest con of my career, but a death sentence. Even without the looming end of the Tetrarchia, there was no freedom on the horizon."
People have not been kind to Kalyna and her family. They have suffered under xenophobic hands that would rather see them all dead and end their family line. Kalyna sees herself as reflected in the common people. They are the ones she is willing to save, not the oppressive upper class. The common people were her people and they didn't deserve to suffer under this impending doom. To save everyone she has to step up, uncover what this mass casualty event her father has foreseen and stop it before it happens.
"The whole Tetrarchia is my people, and I am also a foreigner here.
One of the best qualities of this book is the atmosphere of the self awareness of traditional fantasy stories, particularly political fantasies with its elaborate story lines with complex family trees, and weird name structures. The tongue-in-cheek humour presented in the outrageously long names from the official name for the Tetrarchia and the council of barbarians to the names of people at court and in the history books. This gave a levity to the dark situations Kalyna was entrenched in. Although this book does not take itself too seriously, it sometimes stumbles into its own traps becoming confusing in parts. I love a fantasy map, and this definitely would have been a great book to have not just of the Tetrarchia, but of Rotfelsen. I would have awarded this book double points if it was Kalyna's with her detailed family history on safe locations, hidden roads and campsites she frequents.
The world-building was an interesting aspect of this book as it was set within a tetrarchy - four sovereign states merging into one nation, the Tetrarchia, ruled by a council of four monarchs. It is more of a legal merger than a true unification as the four regions are still very separate, very culturally different.
What surprised me about this book was the commentary - xenophobia, gentrification, homophobia, nationalism, classism, a Manchurian candidate King, fascism and religious fanaticism. It even touches on access to medical care, medical ethics, homelessness, various forms of privilege, and women's rights. These are very heavy themes that are quite relevant today's climate. Many books try and incorporate real issues within their worlds, but to do it well is hard, and can run the risk of isolating or annoying the reader. When we read, most expect a form of escapism, so when authors blend reality with their story, the blend is either seamless or can take you out and potentially ruin your experience. This book blends such important discussions while still being funny, poignant, and piercing.
The first half of this book (Parts 1, 2 and 3) was entertaining. I was entertained! I was enamoured by the political plots Kalyna was trying to navigate. The country of Rotfelsen has so many problems that any one of them could be the flashpoint that leads to the ruination of the Tetrarchia. Kalyna is the optimal person to fish out this conspiracy. She is multilingual, a great liar, an actress and has no emotional investment in the future of Rotfelsen (beside saving them all from certain doom). She was the perfect spy.
"I am a liar, after all."
Parts 4, 5 and 6 when everything was meant to come to a head. It was the crescendo of the book, and it fell flat. I was conflicted. I was absorbed with the story but I found myself repeatedly placing the book down. My expectations from the first three parts were not being met. Ultimately, I trudged my way through Part 6 with fond memories of the first half of this book, questioning where it all went wrong. Kalyna was such a great protagonist, with her conflicting relationship with the truth and with the people she learns to care about. Her frenemies relationship with Lenz was a notable highlight that was so well developed and executed faultlessly.
Unfortunately, I felt the impeding destruction was repeated ad nauseum and became somewhat tedious. I fully understood what was at stake. I understood what was at stake every step of the way. Kalyna's desperate decisions were always because of her knowledge of what the future would potentially hold. The constant repetition felt annoying at times, especially when the reminders were so close together. I was so happy when Kalyna shared her knowledge later one with certain parties, because her shouldering this burden was exhausting for her, and the reader.
Also, when the cause of this impeding destruction was revealed, I wasn't convinced. I expected something else, and the threat didn't feel as earth shattering as it was intended to be. Maybe the hype was too much to have a satisfying pay-off.
"This country will collapse in chaos and war, Kalyna"
The saddest aspect was Kalyna's internalised hatred. The emotional abuse she suffered under her grandmother and her continued inability to access her Gift have seeped in and polluted her perception of herself. The Gift that has spanned her family for generations, and her inability to be a true soothsayer like her ancestors is a constant shadow for Kalyna. She constantly admonishs herself for her supposed failure, and for being the one weighed down with the responsibility to save everyone with a gift she doesn't have. Kaylna never really lets go of this self-hatred, but eventually establishes a semblance of peace with her situation, and I think that is a more realistic depiction. I would have shunned a depiction of a full 180° attitude where she is 100% healed and is a thriving #girlboss.
"Perhaps the Gift is in me somewhere, and instead of being broken I am simply too stupid to access it."
The open ending of this story allows room for possible sequels or a companion novel and I would enjoy another story following Kalyna or the next generation of soothsayers. I wouldn't say I was happy with the way the romance was resolved or Kalyna's choice of partners. I was on board with her choice in continuing her family tradition, rather than settling down but I think either option would have been bittersweet. She would have had to compromise a part of herself either way. Ultimately, I felt the epilogue was too fast, brief, and wasn't very satisfying or worth it. I would have preferred not to have it.
The Romance (or attempt at romance)
Ah, the romance. I am partial to a good romance moment. I love an epic romance that makes me swoon and sweeps me off my feet. I even enjoy the slow understated romance that feels harmonious and serene. If the story has romance, then I am 100% here for it. My one contention is that it has to make sense with the overall story and if it doesn't, I don't want it. Kalyna the Soothsayer had the hallmark of being a great story with no romance. Just a girl conning her way around a court, trying to avoid or prevent the end of the Tetrarchia. I didn't release the was a romantic aspect until the 60% mark. Kalyna is such an eclectic character that I thought she would have possible a few romantic prospects. Was I happy with the way this sub plot was developed? Not really, but I was intrigued all the same. Her love life wasn't a part of the political conspiracy plot, which I liked, and it was just a quiet separate thing that she experienced during her time in Rotfelsen. However, like I had previously stated how her love life was resolved in the epilogue, I did not like. You win some, you lose some.
The structure
The story is told as a memoir. The events have already happened and this is a simple retelling of Kalyna's perspective and her hand in these events. The story is broken up into six parts. Each part has small sections with headings (not chapters) separating the flow of events within the parts. It's an unconventional structure, one that might be disconcerting and possibly contentious for some readers but I don't believe it takes anything away from the overarching story. It makes the story feel much bigger with only six 'chapters'.
It is never explained why Kalyna has written this memoir. Lenz, her boss/mentor/kidnapper is known (and mocked) for writing his own histories, and incorporating his own perspective and theories into these histories, so logic dictates it is a call back to Lenz and his influence. Perhaps it is because Kaylna has a hand in all the kingdom's futures and her journey is influential enough to require a detailed account. Having an explanation on why this story is told in this format and why Kaylna decieded to 'write' this memoir would have been interesting and was a missed opportunity. I would have loved fake intertextual references interspersed in, with the full titles of histories Kalyna has to read and a fake glossary of all the fake texts mentioned. Academic style with footnotes would have gone over well with me.
Despite my reservations on the second half, this book is a great witty political fantasy. The characters were fun, well developed and distinguishable and had distinct motivations that moved the story forward. The structure was unconventional but overall a non-issue. This book makes me want to read more big political fantasies. Political fantasies have a stigma of being inaccessible to people as they can be too far reaching, to complicated and to intellectual. At no point in this book did I feel too dumb or the story too complicated.
Would I recommend this book?
Yes. You love political fantasies like [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331548394l/3236307._SY75_.jpg|3270810], [b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms|6437061|The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303143211l/6437061._SY75_.jpg|6626657] and [b:Spinning Silver|36896898|Spinning Silver|Naomi Novik|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513872748l/36896898._SX50_.jpg|58657620].
Will I continue reading this series?
I don't think this is a series. If Spector writes another Kalyna book I might be interested in seeing what chaos she causes next but I think it would depend on if it's a time jump, if Kalyna is no longer a soothsayer or if it's a different (future or past) soothsayer in her family.
Will I re-read this book?
One day maybe
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Originally posted on Just Geeking by.
Content warnings:
Have you ever finished a book, sat back and wondered what on earth you have just read? That was me after I had finished Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector. There was something about this one that kept me hooked even when I kept looking at the percentage read and realised that what I thought was a huge chunk read was only a measly 20 percent!
I have to admit I went into Kalyna the Soothsayer expecting there to be a point where the main character, Kalyna was revealed to have real soothsaying powers or some other gift. At some points it felt as though that was where Spector was heading, and I thought I read a few hints dropped to that extent. I’m not quite sure if I’m glad that I was wrong about the direction Spector took the book in or not, because while I think that route would have been interesting it was also refreshing to have a protagonist who didn’t have any powers. As a result, Kalyna the Soothsayer is more fantasy with a spy and thriller twist than your usual epic fantasy and I think that is what kept me hooked. I had to know what was going to happen, how things would turn out.
As a main character Kalyna is probably not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Anyone who read Throne of Glass and complained that Celaena was bratty should give this a miss, especially because they missed the fact that Celaena had been through traumatic experiences and was dealing with PTSD. The world of Kalyna the Soothsayer is divided into four kingdoms which eventually banded together to form a “gigantic country” called the Tetrarchia. Kalyna and her family are travelling soothsayers, and as she tells people multiple times throughout the book, she’s not “foreign”; she belongs to every country.
“I have got something from everywhere, and I am exotic to all” is how she explains, “It is useful for business, and also for being dragged out by a mob to be throttled”.
Her grandmother is an extremely toxic person who told her as a child that she killed her mother (she died in childbirth), and has been emotionally abusing her since it became obvious that Kalyna had not inherited their family gift. Being forced into a coach and taken to one of the kingdoms to act as a soothsayer in a prince’s mad scheme is just another traumatic event in a long line for this young woman. Spector does a great job of walking that fine line between exploring Kalyna’s feelings of imprisonment, anxiety of being found out as a fraud, worry about her disabled father while feeling guilty for enjoying luxuries that she has never had before.
I found her likeable and relatable, and a lot of that was to do with Spector’s narrative voice. At one point during Kalyna the Soothsayer a character introduces herself while eating something and Kalyna is too embarrassed to ask her to repeat it because she likes her. She spends an awfully long time calling this woman a random misheard name until someone finally says her name properly, and it was just so relatable. It also brought the whole situation and the character down to earth. She’s running around trying not to get caught, up to her neck in the middle of political conspiracies, risking certain death and there she is worried about embarrassing herself in front of a pretty girl!
While there was enough to keep me hooked, the massive downfall of the Kalyna the Soothsayer is its length. There is just so much waffling on which just isn’t needed. I don’t know whether a map is included in the final edition (there’s no preview available on Amazon and no information on the author’s website), but this is one of those books where one is sorely needed. From the way the kingdoms are described and the etymology of the names Spector has used I would guess that this is one of those fantasy worlds stylised on real world locations and cultures. Sometimes that can be done very well, and sometimes it can feel like I’m reading historical fiction rather than fantasy. In this case, it wasn’t done well. When Kalyna is reading through her captor’s tireless and boring notes, the reader does not need to know all those details as well, for example.
Some things were well done, and it was good to see a disabled character and lots of LGBT representation in a fantasy novel without any negative connotations attached to either. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Elijah Kinch Spector does next, but Kalyna the Soothsayer just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.
For more of my reviews please visit my blog!
Content warnings:
Spoiler
There are scenes of violence, death, torture, emotional abuse and forced imprisonment throughout this book. Racism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia and ableism takes place on page and in flashbacks. Homosexuality is encouraged by the military of one kingdom to increase military prowess, but as soon as men leave the military they are ostracised if they remain together as homosexuality is not accepted by society. The persecution of witches and people with gifts is also a recurring theme.Have you ever finished a book, sat back and wondered what on earth you have just read? That was me after I had finished Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector. There was something about this one that kept me hooked even when I kept looking at the percentage read and realised that what I thought was a huge chunk read was only a measly 20 percent!
I have to admit I went into Kalyna the Soothsayer expecting there to be a point where the main character, Kalyna was revealed to have real soothsaying powers or some other gift. At some points it felt as though that was where Spector was heading, and I thought I read a few hints dropped to that extent. I’m not quite sure if I’m glad that I was wrong about the direction Spector took the book in or not, because while I think that route would have been interesting it was also refreshing to have a protagonist who didn’t have any powers. As a result, Kalyna the Soothsayer is more fantasy with a spy and thriller twist than your usual epic fantasy and I think that is what kept me hooked. I had to know what was going to happen, how things would turn out.
As a main character Kalyna is probably not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Anyone who read Throne of Glass and complained that Celaena was bratty should give this a miss, especially because they missed the fact that Celaena had been through traumatic experiences and was dealing with PTSD. The world of Kalyna the Soothsayer is divided into four kingdoms which eventually banded together to form a “gigantic country” called the Tetrarchia. Kalyna and her family are travelling soothsayers, and as she tells people multiple times throughout the book, she’s not “foreign”; she belongs to every country.
“I have got something from everywhere, and I am exotic to all” is how she explains, “It is useful for business, and also for being dragged out by a mob to be throttled”.
Her grandmother is an extremely toxic person who told her as a child that she killed her mother (she died in childbirth), and has been emotionally abusing her since it became obvious that Kalyna had not inherited their family gift. Being forced into a coach and taken to one of the kingdoms to act as a soothsayer in a prince’s mad scheme is just another traumatic event in a long line for this young woman. Spector does a great job of walking that fine line between exploring Kalyna’s feelings of imprisonment, anxiety of being found out as a fraud, worry about her disabled father while feeling guilty for enjoying luxuries that she has never had before.
I found her likeable and relatable, and a lot of that was to do with Spector’s narrative voice. At one point during Kalyna the Soothsayer a character introduces herself while eating something and Kalyna is too embarrassed to ask her to repeat it because she likes her. She spends an awfully long time calling this woman a random misheard name until someone finally says her name properly, and it was just so relatable. It also brought the whole situation and the character down to earth. She’s running around trying not to get caught, up to her neck in the middle of political conspiracies, risking certain death and there she is worried about embarrassing herself in front of a pretty girl!
While there was enough to keep me hooked, the massive downfall of the Kalyna the Soothsayer is its length. There is just so much waffling on which just isn’t needed. I don’t know whether a map is included in the final edition (there’s no preview available on Amazon and no information on the author’s website), but this is one of those books where one is sorely needed. From the way the kingdoms are described and the etymology of the names Spector has used I would guess that this is one of those fantasy worlds stylised on real world locations and cultures. Sometimes that can be done very well, and sometimes it can feel like I’m reading historical fiction rather than fantasy. In this case, it wasn’t done well. When Kalyna is reading through her captor’s tireless and boring notes, the reader does not need to know all those details as well, for example.
Some things were well done, and it was good to see a disabled character and lots of LGBT representation in a fantasy novel without any negative connotations attached to either. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Elijah Kinch Spector does next, but Kalyna the Soothsayer just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.
For more of my reviews please visit my blog!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated