The Unspoken Name by A K Larkwood

I would like to thank Jamie-Lee Nardone and Tor for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Publisher - Tor

Published - Out Now

Price - £14.99 Hardback £8.99 Kindle ebook

What if you knew how and when you will die?

Csorwe does--she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice. 

But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin--the wizard's loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power.

But Csorwe will soon learn--gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

Fantasy is full is certain stereotypes and once we see them in a scene we know what we are getting. Our naive farm boy is probably about to see his life changed and heroics unfold. Our magical wizard Friend is going to tell us a lot of exposition and do some cool magic (they may die too) and every self respectful Dark Lord tends to have two key henchmen that bicker and score points off one another. Their role is the minor bosses a hero must fight against before the inevitable final confrontation scene(TM) but for we ever actually wonder why the henchmen did it? What makes them loyal to the overlord? Where did they come from? Are they absolutely fixed in their role? AK Larkwood uses that stereotype to give us a wonderfully vast and imaginative tale exploring one such henchmen and taking on all the stereotypes to give us a vast tale that is deliciously unique and refreshing.

We meet Crowse (sounds like Doorway) a young teenage orc bride of the god known as the Unspoken One. She can see the future and the past…until she is fourteen and then sacrificed to the God. It’s her destiny she accepts its but then the wizard Belthandros Sethennal an elvish style wizard arrives seeking news of an ancient artefact known as the Reliquary that may aid him regaining control of his older land. Crowse provides key information but also notes that Crowse may want to be more than dead. He offers her a chance to escape and unexpectedly Crowse takes it. She is whisked away to the grubby and dangerous city of Grey shook to learn weapons, stealth, infiltration and eventually surprises Crowse by providing the key to his regaining power. But the Reqliaury remains lost… until Crowse and her rival assassin Talasseres Charossa arrive on a dead world where some artefacts are being found. Everyone is about to find loyalty gets tested much more than they expected especially when Crowse crosses paths with the powerful young and attractive magician Shuthmill who also has a destiny awaiting her that isn’t quite what most of us would want.

This was a sumptuous read and the scale and ambition is vast! This isn’t your standard fantasy world of one continent with a few weird lands and races this is a universe of magical worlds all connected through mysterious gates. It’s a world of ancient gods often having to work through their avatars/champions where magical forces can destroy an entire planet. Larkwood has taken the trappings of High Fantasy and given them a much needed refresh. It’s a book that really beckons the reader with scale and imagination. A key part to seeing that difference is through the character of a Crowse herself.

In Larkwood’s universe orcs aren’t simple brutes they’re a race just as a capable of magic, knowledge and guile as any others. Here it’s religion that makes the difference it Crowse as her god requires her sacrifice that’s her role and all she needs to live for: then Sethannel arrives and takes her to see life and shows her she can do so much more. She discovers she love fighting and ends up on many missions for her helpful master and plays a key role in helping him defeat a key enemy. She has a learning curve so her missions play to her skills rather than she is the best at everything but it’s her compassion and understanding rather than pure ruthlessness that gives her an edge and then she meets Shuthmili… both very good at what they do and both through each other realise that life has more to offer than service. Unfortunately their bosses are less impressed and on top of this an Orc sorceress/necromancer librarian known as as Oranna sees Shuthmili as a great way to gain a lot more power to serve her own god.

It is a very episodic adventure. Because of how different this type of world is a lot of time is needed to familiarise ourselves with the rules. Gods exist, worlds can rise and fall, power has costs unless you can find ways through the magical rules. That does impact pacing as the world needs establishing a lot more before the main events of the novel can start but for me it’s Crowse who is the heart of the story - engaging, loved to act, shy and only just realised she can express emotions to someone. This novel is about her growing up…and the rise of people with huge magical abilities. We get rescue missions, betrayals and revelations about characters - trust is a huge issue for everyone as they all know their role to play and now the rules don’t quite fit the reality. There are moments of comedy, banter, tenderness and cruelty. And it feels refreshingly familiar but in this novel different.

One aspect I liked is that we don’t meet many truly evil people. They are perhaps best seen as completely ruthless - people who use their underlings for gaining more power. In some circumstances they could be accused of emotional blackmail building relationships to re-enforce loyalty. A perfect metaphor for the boss of your workplace that expects you to just live for work not evil in the death and destruction just absolutely focused on their own power at the cost of others. We meet an even more ruthless example in Shuthmili’s relative and also government representative Zhiyouri who exploits the young Crowse to get her own way. For these people everyone is expendable.

It’s a very hard novel to describe but I think it’s a fascinating start to a new series that ends completing one adventure but hinting at a lot more to come. I loved watching Crowse develop and get more complex in her understanding of her world and what she wanted. This novel is about gaining independence and putting others first I am now intrigued where Larkwood goes with it. Highly recommended and one of the most promising debuts so far this year.