A review by sofipitch
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.75

I ended up liking this a lot more than I thought I would given it is "high fantasy" (which I normally don't like). But I think that is because of how much it challenges high fantasy conventions. My favorite being instead of a good benevolent wizard (Merlin/Gandalf/Dumbledore) saving and training the young hero, what if they only had their own goals in mind, what if they were only investing in a weapon for later? What if being saved from a cult only meant you were willing to put up with shit bc at least it's better than the alternative? (I could chew on the Sethanai and Csorwe relationship dynamic forever, it's so good). Also instead of the "dying for a noble cause" BS it challenges the idea bc how can you be <I>sure</I> it's a noble cause? How do you know you weren't groomed into thinking this way so you can be used and discarded *cough cough every military ever cough*. I could go on and on. This book pisses on the "importance of the magic quest" as a story format. Another thing I liked is the world building is only given as it is relevant instead of hitting you with a firehose of facts no one will remember. So yeah, high fantasy that challenges everything I don't like about high fantasy. Also on top of a good story with interesting themes I found myself genuinely invested in the characters in a way I didn't think I would be. I normally put on audiobooks to fall asleep but this one kept me up wondering what would happen to Csorwe and Shuthmili
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