MINI REVIEW: FLEETING WORD (A KALLATIAN SAGA STORY)
In the wake of the Protectorate Wars...
With the next book in this series due to come out soon, I figured I'd get my Kallatian fix in by listening to this short little novella set before the events of the main novels.
HOW I RATED IT
3/5 Though this was an enjoyable little episode set in the world of the Kallatian Saga, it's brief format, side tangents, and a core narrative that I found tricky to track held it back slightly from being as enjoyable as the mainline novels.
The story follows Nethendel who is a Paladin living within Pariantur at the time when the Protectorate wars have finally come to an end. Unlike his brothers, he has not seen any action on the battlefield due largely to his vow of pacifism. He is also set apart in that he performs most of his duties to the order in the hours of darkness. He's a likeable enough POV characters and it was interesting to follow someone different from the leads who've taken us with them through the events of the novels. There are some cool mentions and cameos for some of the side characters in the main series, though they are much younger than the versions that we've come to know. Meredith makes crafting a charming cast seem like an effortless and cozy endeavor where the interactions between the different personalities feel satisfyingly genuine and yet also larger than life in a way. While we don't really travel around as much as in the core entries of the series, it was really cool to see such an important location in more detail during a different time period. Although there is a core plot to this novella, I think some of it got lost for me in between all the character moments and at least one point in which a character pauses to recount a fictional tale to someone. Things all snap together so quickly at the end, that I'm not even fully sure if I really comprehended all the details of what was going on and it's significance to the broader lore of the Kallitai. Ultimately I was left with a bizarre feeling that this story was both rushed and meandering at the same time. It also felt like it was more of a teaser for things to come than anything else in some ways.
While I would agree with the author's note in the book that states that this story contains no spoilers for the main series, I'd argue that it's not an amazing place to start your Kallatian journey as I don't think it really represents the scale and scope of what Meredith is able to do. Perhaps that's obvious given the shorter form of a novella and I can see this acting as a good taste test for his writing. I would just caution that it's not the full Kallatian experience and there's also a lot of concepts and names dropped which are going to be easier to appreciate if you've at least finished the first novel and understand some of the inner workings of the Paladinial orders (and the world at large). Personally, I kind of wish that I had read this immediately after either the second or the third book as I think I might have been quicker on the uptake with a few things.
AUDIOBOOK
As with the books in this series, the author himself narrates the adventure. He again does a splendid job of bringing his written word into a crisp and compelling audio experience. While I argued that this is not the best starting place for prospective Kallatian fans, I'd certainly understand if someone wanted to give Meredith's narration skills a try through this novella.
CONCLUSION
Existing fans of the series are going to want to give this quick novella a read. It adds a a nice little something to the established lore of the series and offers a sneak peek into a part of the timeline which the author has stated he plans to explore. I wouldn't really say this is an amazing place to start your journey through the saga in spite of the fact that this story won't spoil anything for entries into the series proper. While it does tell a complete story, it feels more like a tantalizing taste of things to come rather than something that's fully satisfying in it's own right.
(+) Likeable main protagonist.
(+) Lots of references/appearances for important characters in the first arc of the Kallatian Saga
(+) An plot that builds slowly before connecting at the end.
(+) An intriguing preview of a past that may be explored in future books as well as perhaps some interesting hints at things that may yet to come in the series.
( ) I wouldn't personally recommend this as a starting point for the series even if it doesn't really spoil anything for the mainline novels.
(-) It's a little harder to get attached to these characters in shorter form fiction.
(-) Despite the more relaxed pace, there's a ton packed in here which made it a little tough to follow at times.
Comments
Post a Comment