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A review by emmabussolotta
Beneath the Keep: A Novel of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
3.0
I'm very conflicted over this book. I loved the Tearling trilogy, so when I heard we were getting a prequel involving my favorite character, I was over the moon. I waited months for this book and now I'm not sure how to feel?
There are two ways I can review this book:
1. As a standalone, almost unrelated to the series. Looking at it this way, I'd give this book 4 stars. By itself, this is a good standalone fantasy novel, but this leads to the second option.
2. As the actual prequel to Queen of the Tearling. When I look at it like this, I get angry. This book changes actual canonical information (Ex. Kelsea's father being Gareth, not Mhurn. Also, wasn't it mentioned Mace was 15 when he joined the Guard? Wasn't Carroll described to be much older than the rest of the Guard?). Gareth wasn't even mentioned in the Tearling Trilogy, and when Mhurn was revealed to be Kelsea's father, I was shocked. There were no hints in the Fate of the Tearling that Kelsea's father could be anyone other than Mhurn. Basically, parts of this book devalue the Tearling trilogy and if someone read this prequel before the trilogy, they would be completely misinformed.
So, there is something very frustrating about this novel, and I feel like if the Tearling trilogy had more need for a prequel, it would have been better. I think Erika Johansen should have followed the Trilogy's canon, and I would have been less upset.
Anyway, three stars because I love Christian/Lazarus/Mace.
There are two ways I can review this book:
1. As a standalone, almost unrelated to the series. Looking at it this way, I'd give this book 4 stars. By itself, this is a good standalone fantasy novel, but this leads to the second option.
2. As the actual prequel to Queen of the Tearling. When I look at it like this, I get angry. This book changes actual canonical information (Ex. Kelsea's father being Gareth, not Mhurn. Also, wasn't it mentioned Mace was 15 when he joined the Guard? Wasn't Carroll described to be much older than the rest of the Guard?). Gareth wasn't even mentioned in the Tearling Trilogy, and when Mhurn was revealed to be Kelsea's father, I was shocked. There were no hints in the Fate of the Tearling that Kelsea's father could be anyone other than Mhurn. Basically, parts of this book devalue the Tearling trilogy and if someone read this prequel before the trilogy, they would be completely misinformed.
So, there is something very frustrating about this novel, and I feel like if the Tearling trilogy had more need for a prequel, it would have been better. I think Erika Johansen should have followed the Trilogy's canon, and I would have been less upset.
Anyway, three stars because I love Christian/Lazarus/Mace.