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A review by justgeekingby
The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le, Nhika is a healer, following an ancient tradition using abilities she was born with. Under the guise of a homoeopathic healer, she uses her abilities in secret, accepting payment at clandestine appointments where she heals patients failed by doctors. While doctors rely on science, Nhika can look directly inside a body and seek out the root of an illness or injury. But healer isn’t what people call her; she’s known as a Bloodcarver, feared for her abilities and hunted for them.
When an appointment goes wrong and Nhika gets caught, she finds herself being sold to the highest bidder. Among the buyers is someone who wants to eat her. When she’s bought by a teenage girl who turns up with an absurdly high bid, Nhika has no idea what could happen next. Prepared to run for it at the first opportunity, she’s stunned when she finds she’s been bought by one of the wealthiest families to help heal a man in a coma.
The more time she spends with the siblings and their bodyguard, she realises there is more going on, and she eventually learns that the injured man is the only witness to their father’s murder. As Nhika works to help heal her patient, she struggles with her past, and identity as a Bloodcarver. Her limited training might be her undoing, and as she seeks help, she unwittingly puts herself in danger. Is the enigmatic yet confusing physician’s aide, Ven Kochin, someone she can trust or someone who will destroy her?
The Last Bloodcarver is an ambitious fantasy novel that aims to mix elements of fantasy, folklore and science. It’s a bold task and one that Le accomplishes well. I think what makes it work is that Le doesn’t try to blend the scientific and fantasy elements too much. For example, Nhika’s training, while spotty, is very different to the medical training of a doctor. This means that she has no medical jargon for what is happening in the body, and that allows Le to wash over a lot of science through her protagonist’s ignorance.
While that may seem like a convenient way to avoid dealing with the subject, Le’s character-building is solid, and it is completely fitting with Nhika’s character that she does not know these things. Le also introduces other information that shows further merging of science and fantasy, but that is a spoiler, and you’ll need to read The Last Bloodcarver for yourself to find out more 😉
There are many layers to this book, and through the characters and sub-plots, Le tackles many difficult themes and topics in The Last Bloodcarver. These include but are not limited to grief, trauma, generational trauma and genocide. I’ve not seen anyone else list this as dark fantasy, however, due to some of the content in it, I feel that it fits that genre.
The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le offers unique world-building, characters you will grow to love and a story that will draw you in.
When an appointment goes wrong and Nhika gets caught, she finds herself being sold to the highest bidder. Among the buyers is someone who wants to eat her. When she’s bought by a teenage girl who turns up with an absurdly high bid, Nhika has no idea what could happen next. Prepared to run for it at the first opportunity, she’s stunned when she finds she’s been bought by one of the wealthiest families to help heal a man in a coma.
The more time she spends with the siblings and their bodyguard, she realises there is more going on, and she eventually learns that the injured man is the only witness to their father’s murder. As Nhika works to help heal her patient, she struggles with her past, and identity as a Bloodcarver. Her limited training might be her undoing, and as she seeks help, she unwittingly puts herself in danger. Is the enigmatic yet confusing physician’s aide, Ven Kochin, someone she can trust or someone who will destroy her?
The Last Bloodcarver is an ambitious fantasy novel that aims to mix elements of fantasy, folklore and science. It’s a bold task and one that Le accomplishes well. I think what makes it work is that Le doesn’t try to blend the scientific and fantasy elements too much. For example, Nhika’s training, while spotty, is very different to the medical training of a doctor. This means that she has no medical jargon for what is happening in the body, and that allows Le to wash over a lot of science through her protagonist’s ignorance.
While that may seem like a convenient way to avoid dealing with the subject, Le’s character-building is solid, and it is completely fitting with Nhika’s character that she does not know these things. Le also introduces other information that shows further merging of science and fantasy, but that is a spoiler, and you’ll need to read The Last Bloodcarver for yourself to find out more 😉
There are many layers to this book, and through the characters and sub-plots, Le tackles many difficult themes and topics in The Last Bloodcarver. These include but are not limited to grief, trauma, generational trauma and genocide. I’ve not seen anyone else list this as dark fantasy, however, due to some of the content in it, I feel that it fits that genre.
The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le offers unique world-building, characters you will grow to love and a story that will draw you in.
Content Warnings