The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott
Publisher - Tor
Published – Out Now
Price – £25.99 hardback £10.99 ebook
Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.
When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen—once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall—is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.
When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.
The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?
How can you tell a story? The pretty standard method is a first act to set up the story have at least one act of things happening then we get the finale with heroic or tragic conclusion. There are however other storytelling methods, and these can create different experiences in the reader. In Kate Elliott’s intricate fantasy novel, The Witch Roads we get a different way to absorb a story, a culture and a history of a world.
The Tranquil Empire has lasted many rules and seeks stability but has on occasion been under attack from a strange enemy known as the Pall. They can release a powerful destructive toxic force contaminating and tainting all biological life including humans. Monitoring the boundaries and the ancient roads that cross the empire are number of couriers including Elen and her nephew Kern. Elen has already seen signs of a Pell incursion and a strange encounter at some ancient ruins with a mysterious ghost suggest something dangerous is coming. Before though she can though warn people Elen gets involved in the arrival of a man who knows too much of her hidden past and the arrival of the arrogant Prince Gevulin. For added measure Elen is required to travel with Gevulin and returns to where the strange spirit met her with surprising results for her group and the wider world.
Book blurbs are always tricky. I include them on the review as it feels part of the key information but on occasion, I think they don’t always help the reader. So just to warn you what is described above is about a third of the entire book! Getting back to that issue of storytelling expectations what you’d think above is the first act so you may be puzzled why its not happening for quite a few pages. My advice is ignoring it. Elliott instead is delivering a much more subtle and interesting set of episodic storytelling. This book is therefore quite gently paced more akin or a serial drama, indeed hard reading this not to think of some k-dramas I have seen too in terms of such storytelling. Everything serves the wider story, and all will click into place eventually
What impresses me in this story is we get some really interesting character work. Elen is a very competent, capable thirtysomething woman who we find does hold some family secrets herself. She does get a fascinating magical counterpart in the form of a character we get to call The Haunt who yes per the blurb does take over the body of the very arrogant Prince Gevulin – but we like the Haunt! They’re funny, interesting and pleasingly kind. Added around this is a great group of Prince Gavulin’s servants and courtiers that creates lots of dynamics of mistrust, anger and intrigue around Elen. With every chapter Elliott gets us to explore this little group, who is in charge, where they are from, their history and the many interesting class dynamics between the group from sparring lovers to those in charge over the others. We also get Elen and Kern’s relationship going through some quite tense changes as the family secrets she has hidden get exposed finally. Slowly these get all teased out and there is usually a lot going on.
Alongside this in many ways rather than the traditional quest we are more on a long road trip, and every leg of this journey has some form of interaction for the group to handle in some way. As the story progresses a bigger plot linked to the history of the Empire, its current battles for power and ancient magic starts to raise questions. What impresses me in this story is how eery chapter be it the group’s adventures or the occasional faux-history book interlude starts to create a mosaic for the reader as to how this world was formed, how it works and what may actually be going on that no one yet knows. Little clues get seeded into the story that do get paid off, its a world with depth and texture and complexity from characters being comfortably bi or trans and this not causing issues for some groups but does for others and as we near the end we as the reader feel quite immersed I the world and invested too. Elen and the Haunt are a fascinating double act with a growing respect and caring for one another combined with teasing which does make us incredibly concerned how this story will eventually pan out.
As its part of duology not all will be resolved in this book but the unusual and refreshing approach to the storytelling made this a read that if you can enjoy the episodic nature and gentle pace then I think you’ll find this novel has a lot to offer the reader. I’m looking forward soon to reading what happens next. Highly recommended!
