The Misheard World by Aliya Whiteley
I would like to thank Solaris for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Solaris
Published – out Now
Price – £18.99 hardback £7.99 ebook
Before wars are won, they must be witnessed.
Elize Janview is a soldier, one of the few survivors of an unimaginably terrible weapon, which ended the long détente between the North and the South and plunged them back into all-out war. She enlisted with a dream of finding those responsible, of somehow getting revenge for the deaths of everyone she knew, but was posted to guard the prison at Crag, the fortress of the South, which has never fallen to the enemy.
Janview’s life is transformed when a rough wooden box is delivered to Crag, holding the performer and spy Marius Mondegreen, agent of the North: the Misheard Word, who can read minds, breathe fire, and make objects appear and disappear. Janview is to witness Mondegreen’s interrogation by his captor, the beautiful and cruel Allynx Syld, who promises the end of the war. As recorder – and by degrees participant – in the interrogation, Janview comes to question everything she knew about the war, and the very world she lives in…
There are countless stories with a war key to them. Not just science fiction and fantasy but historical stories, crime fiction and its something we find compelling to a drama. What is more important than when the world as you know it is ending around you. However, there are less stories exploring war itself as a concept and the disturbing idea that war itself is a form of storytelling. For those of us who hold the power of words dear to us that may sound alarming, but everything has a dark side so why not stories? In Aliya Whitely’s intricate novel, The Misheard World we are taken to a world plunged into war where finally someone finds out what the war is for.
The North and the South have been at war for many years, and the fighting has got more desperate. One of the most alarming incidents was when the South’s city of Droad that both sides held in high esteem was totally destroyed by a new and devastating weapon. This has now made the war a cause both sides cannot afford to lose. Elize is a soldier of the South who has opted for reasons of her own to work at Crag, the infamous high tower that also serves as a prison for those captured in wartime. The prison though finds that they are about to receive a high-status new inmate in the form of the legendary Marius Mondegreen, spy, storyteller and magician. To interrogate him will be the powerful Allynx Syld a socialite noble who turned from the North to support the South against this aggression. Elize has been chosen to observe these observations and report to the prison’s governor what occurs. Prisoner and interrogator who know each other well swap barbs and stories but slowly Elia finds they may hold the key to why the war wages itself.
This is a story that changes shape to make its points. The first half told by Elize feels in many ways the most traditional that would easily fit into any epic fantasy or science fiction tale. Elize’s world is secondary to ours. Not quite as technical despite the new mysterious weapon that has been used nor magical in nature. Mondegreen is an accomplished conjurer more than wizard (it is thought). Elize in her own worlds explains the prison, the life she has and importantly we see this not just at the high end of the two powers battling their wits but the common soldier’s banter and the prisoners who we see actually all seem to respect one another. This is not a tale of two sides who are yet out for each other’s total which does suggest there is some mystery as to what is this war is actually about even the leaders we meet seem unsure. We learn that Elize is from that destroyed city of Droad and so her decision to work at Crag hints at her own agenda, but we are not immediately sure in what way.
The energy from this section comes from the characters of Mondegreen and the deliciously named Allynx Syld. They are both the kind of compelling hyperreal characters who own their respective stages. Clearly, they are Powers on both sides, privy to the world’s secrets and intriguingly know each other. The interrogation scenes are captivating as we watch them try to tease secrets from each other and they’re doing this in the form of little unusual stories they tell each other. Here stories are clearly metaphors and we as observers to this world are looking for the perhaps secret messages being transmitted. Like Elize we must try and unpick what is going on. It’s a war where we have these mighty lead characters in charge, trying to turn events to their own agendas and Elize looks like she is destined to be swept up into the war’s next stage. There is just one fascinating rumour we hear that suggests this war is not quite what we think. Events build and build and then we reach a fascinating turning point that completely blindsides the reader as to what is actually going on.
I’m going to be a little vague here but having built up Mondegreen and the Allynx Syld up then Whiteley unexpectedly decides to halfway give us their full origin stories. We move from a more traditional story of mighty Powers into exploring where and who these two characters actually are and why they are doping what they are doing. It is hard not to think of all those powerful mentor figures we have seen in fiction but then Whiteley pulls off the dashing cloaks, the sparkling repartee and shows us that underneath it all these great Powers are actually quite mortal but not quite in the way you’d expect.
This part of the story really brings the science fictional elements to the fore but for me they are also an opportunity for Whiteley to unpick what is a war. All wars are deep down about the stories of why we must fight, why we must defend and all sides have their storytellers. The people who know the world and acts that bring people to their flags. Why do those people do this? Honour, power and status? Is this creating propaganda or trying to make a truth out of events? Done for money, status or just a pure love of the game? We are taken behind the theatrical stage of war to see how the conjuror works and what happens when they drop their stage act when the spotlight is off them. In some ways those of us expecting grand mysteries and ancient secrets may initially be disappointed but actually Whiteley reminds us war is often about the more basic needs of people – power, wealth and sometimes because they just feel like they’d like to have a war for the fact that they are powerful people and so they can. War is often where other powers than simply nations and their leaders are at play and there is always someone else behind the curtain pulling strings. After all the metaphor and allusions these sections are decidedly ordinary and personally told to Elize and a huge contrast to the more traditional first part of the story in terms of language and glamour to reflect the back-stage nature of the tale
The stories final act is then what do you do when you see the world as it may actually be? Do you ignore it? Do you join forces to stop it? Do you escape it? Elize has several changes of role thrust upon her and we feel her understandable confusion at what she is told and has to decide if this is js another clever form of story she is hearing. How will those in power react to knowing someone else has been shared the actual rulebook they’re playing by? If you’re expecting a straightforward resolution again, you’ll be disappointed and indeed Whiteley has a fascinating way of creating an open ending to the story. Wars unlike stories do not end simply, and the outcomes are never certain. For me the ending works as that is the point of the whole story and that the story is confident enough to do this pulling everything together and yet still leaves it up to us to decide what actually happens next.
I have to say reading The Misheard World when my news alerts suddenly told me of yet another war starting with huge consequences for the world and no clear outcome made reading it a powerful experience. However applying this story, the real world was quite useful and indeed a minor plot point as to what is going on I was shocked to see was also being reported to be occurring with this story. Wars are like many crimes all about the wealth it may create. I’ve always enjoyed a Whiteley story but this one… this feels incredibly apt for the times we again live in and is strongly recommended!
