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A review by popthebutterfly
Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Kalyna the Soothsayer
Author: Elijah Kinch Spector
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Queer MCs, disabled character, POC characters, chronic illness character
Recommended For...: adult readers, high fantasy, LGBT, espionage, fantasy
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Genre: High Fantasy
Age Relevance: 16+ (alcohol consumption, child abuse and other abuse (physical, emotional, verbal), animal death, gore (blood), kidnapping, classism, racism, sexism, colorism, abelism, illness, parental death, death, grief, violence , torture, gun violence, drowning, drug usage, grief, homelessness, slavery, infertility, misogyny, queermisia, war)
Explanation of Above: There is some alcohol consumption shown and mentioned in this book. There is child abuse and regular abuse shown in this book, with physical, emotional, and verbal being showcased, There is animal death mentioned. There is some blood gore, violence, gun violence, death, and torture mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes of kidnapping and slavery in the book. There are scenes and mentions of classism, racism, sexism, misogyny, colorism, abelism, and queermisia in the book. There is some illness mentioned. There is parental death shown. There is a drowning scene. There is a drugging shown. There are scenes of grief. There are mentions of homelessness and infertility. There is also an ongoing war with military violence shown.
Publisher: Erewhon
Pages: 464
Synopsis: Kalyna’s family has had the Gift for generations: the ability to see and predict the future. For decades, they have traveled around the four connected kingdoms of the Tetrarchia—one country with four monarchs—selling their services as soothsayers. The Gift is their calling and what defines them. Every child of their family has the Gift.
Except Kalyna. Born without the Gift, for years, she’s supported her father—who is losing sight of reality under the weight of his confused visions of the future—and her cruel grandmother on the strength of her wits, using informants and trickery to fake prophecies and scrounge a living. But it’s getting harder every year.
And poverty turns to danger when, on the strength of her reputation, Kalyna is “hired” (kidnapped, she would call it) by Lenz, the spymaster to the prince of Rotfelsen. Lenz wants Kalyna to use her talent for prophecy to uncover threats against Rotfelsen’s king, and he’s willing to hold her family hostage against her good behavior. But Rotfelsenisch politics are devious; the King’s enemies abound; and Kalyna’s skills for investigation and deception are tested to the limit. Worse, the conspiracy she begins to uncover points to a threat not only to the King of Rotfelsen but to all four monarchs of the Tetrarchia, when they meet for their annual governing “Council of Barbarians.” A Council that happens to fall at precisely the same time that Kalyna’s father has prophesied the catastrophic downfall of the Tetrarchia.
Kalyna is determined to protect her family (even Grandmother!), and her newfound friends—and to save the Tetrarchia too. But as she is drawn deeper into palace intrigue, she’s not sure if her manipulations are helping prevent the Tetrarchia’s destruction—or if her lies will bring it about.
Review: For the most part I thought the book was well done! I loved the journey and I thought Kalyna was wonderfully well written as a con artist character. I really like characters like that and it reminded me a lot of Kaz in a weird way? Anyways I thought the book did well to be a fun read, but one that tackled a lot of serious issues. I never see this book floating around in LGBT squares and I think the commentary on queermisia alone makes it worthy of being discussed. The world building was also well done and the character development was good.
However, I felt like the last half of the book fell extremely flat and it was a bit let down. The beginning is so strong and I was disappointed that the momentum didn’t carry through to the second half of the book.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!
Book: Kalyna the Soothsayer
Author: Elijah Kinch Spector
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Queer MCs, disabled character, POC characters, chronic illness character
Recommended For...: adult readers, high fantasy, LGBT, espionage, fantasy
Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Genre: High Fantasy
Age Relevance: 16+ (alcohol consumption, child abuse and other abuse (physical, emotional, verbal), animal death, gore (blood), kidnapping, classism, racism, sexism, colorism, abelism, illness, parental death, death, grief, violence , torture, gun violence, drowning, drug usage, grief, homelessness, slavery, infertility, misogyny, queermisia, war)
Explanation of Above: There is some alcohol consumption shown and mentioned in this book. There is child abuse and regular abuse shown in this book, with physical, emotional, and verbal being showcased, There is animal death mentioned. There is some blood gore, violence, gun violence, death, and torture mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes of kidnapping and slavery in the book. There are scenes and mentions of classism, racism, sexism, misogyny, colorism, abelism, and queermisia in the book. There is some illness mentioned. There is parental death shown. There is a drowning scene. There is a drugging shown. There are scenes of grief. There are mentions of homelessness and infertility. There is also an ongoing war with military violence shown.
Publisher: Erewhon
Pages: 464
Synopsis: Kalyna’s family has had the Gift for generations: the ability to see and predict the future. For decades, they have traveled around the four connected kingdoms of the Tetrarchia—one country with four monarchs—selling their services as soothsayers. The Gift is their calling and what defines them. Every child of their family has the Gift.
Except Kalyna. Born without the Gift, for years, she’s supported her father—who is losing sight of reality under the weight of his confused visions of the future—and her cruel grandmother on the strength of her wits, using informants and trickery to fake prophecies and scrounge a living. But it’s getting harder every year.
And poverty turns to danger when, on the strength of her reputation, Kalyna is “hired” (kidnapped, she would call it) by Lenz, the spymaster to the prince of Rotfelsen. Lenz wants Kalyna to use her talent for prophecy to uncover threats against Rotfelsen’s king, and he’s willing to hold her family hostage against her good behavior. But Rotfelsenisch politics are devious; the King’s enemies abound; and Kalyna’s skills for investigation and deception are tested to the limit. Worse, the conspiracy she begins to uncover points to a threat not only to the King of Rotfelsen but to all four monarchs of the Tetrarchia, when they meet for their annual governing “Council of Barbarians.” A Council that happens to fall at precisely the same time that Kalyna’s father has prophesied the catastrophic downfall of the Tetrarchia.
Kalyna is determined to protect her family (even Grandmother!), and her newfound friends—and to save the Tetrarchia too. But as she is drawn deeper into palace intrigue, she’s not sure if her manipulations are helping prevent the Tetrarchia’s destruction—or if her lies will bring it about.
Review: For the most part I thought the book was well done! I loved the journey and I thought Kalyna was wonderfully well written as a con artist character. I really like characters like that and it reminded me a lot of Kaz in a weird way? Anyways I thought the book did well to be a fun read, but one that tackled a lot of serious issues. I never see this book floating around in LGBT squares and I think the commentary on queermisia alone makes it worthy of being discussed. The world building was also well done and the character development was good.
However, I felt like the last half of the book fell extremely flat and it was a bit let down. The beginning is so strong and I was disappointed that the momentum didn’t carry through to the second half of the book.
Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!