Year of The Mer by L D Lewis
I would like to thank Saga Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Saga Press
Published - Out Now
Price - $30.00 hardback $14:99 ebook
Also available in the U.K.
The fairy tale mermaid Arielle might have gotten her happily-ever-after, but her granddaughter Yemi is having a much harder time. Her father, the king of Ixia, was assassinated years ago, her mother is slowly dying of a poisoned wound, and she faces whispers and slights from her own people. Yemi has been raised as the shield of the kingdom and is soon to inherit the throne, but she cannot shake her fury at how Ixia has treated her family after all they’ve sacrificed. Only her patient mother and steadfast personal bodyguard (and fiancée), Nova, help Yemi rein in that fury...most of the time.
When the kingdom’s discontented rumblings reach a fever pitch, a coup erupts and Yemi’s throne is usurped, stripping her of her family and forcing her into exile. Now, only one being has the power to help her: Ursla.
Like her grandmother before her, Yemi is tempted by a deal with the sea-witch. With powerful and ancient magic behind her, Yemi could avenge her family, take back her throne, and protect the love of her life. But she should know more than anyone that there is always a price. As much as Yemi wants vengeance, Ursla has been waiting a very, very long time for her own—and it may take more fortune than Yemi possesses to keep her from losing everything all over again.
We are used to stories being retold but often the level of change is not too great. We may have tales perhaps with a more 21st century mindset tackling the sexism of the past. We can have tales perhaps showing us villains as they’re heroes or vice versa. However in L D Lewis’s excellent fantasy novel Year of the Mer we have a epic tale starting which uses a classic fairy tale as its turning point for its history and yet creates fifty years later the highest of stakes for its characters and their world.
Yemi is the heir to the Ixian throne. After many years of war with its neighbours there have been a few years of peace as Yemi’s mother helped secure a massive victory but at the cost of ailing health. Yemi and her Guard (also partner) Nova have been searching for missing ships but return to the palace without any evidence. Their return though coincides with treachery as some factions object to Yemi’s line of royalty for not being fully human. A coup places the two in danger and Yemi decides her only option is to meet the sea witch Ursla a price though awaits in the ocean kingdom of the people known as the Mer.
From the off what grabs me in this story is the care and attention Lewis pays to their world and characters. Here we have in Ixia a country not at all at ease at itself. It’s a secondary world where war has very much helped push it to a more technology based world than we are used to still in epic fantasy. Cars are appearing on the streets (electric rather than petrol fuelled), radio is how people hear the news and opinions of the populace but we also have magically fuelled weapons and positions that can turn its victims slowly to stone. While Ixia is very grand and powerful we soon realise that not everyone supports its monarchy. The reason why though is very skilfully explained.
If I tell you that Yemi’s grandmother was a Mer Princess named Arielle than you may suddenly realise that this story is using a much more adult version of The Little Mermaid as its origin story. However Lewis explores the political impacts of the tale year later rather than simply retelling the sweet romance and dance numbers of other versions we may have seen. For Ixia this left the royal family suddenly not quite human and the Mer had always been feared, as a result there have been brutal wars with a cost for Arielle’s land heirs, while for the Mer we soon see the loss of their royal heir led to a power vacuum and quite big changes for the ocean kingdoms. The depth of the worldbuilding we have in this story really helps make the story feel older, denser and most importantly more adult than I’ve seen in a lot of retellings and this makes it’s very refreshing read.
Three main characters all surround the tale. At its heart is Yemi a princess who is also a soldier and still learning the art of leadership. She can be funny, smart and knows how to fight but she is also mentally scarred by the fighting that dominated her growing up. Seeing one parent assassinated and another poisoned has made her very aware that not everyone is her ally and she finds the need to grin and not show others what she really thinks of them an increasing grind. The coup exposes her darker side and I really liked having a main character that while we empathise with her we wonder if all of her choices are wise ones. To balance this out is Nova the loyal partner who knows her official job is to protect Yemi but not afraid to pull her up on her rash decisions. It’s a well handled duo where the romance between them feels adult and one we worry could be harmed by the book’s plot but she easily stands on her own two feet too as main character. The coup we witness is really the triggering point for a much bigger story to come and the pressures on these characters is explored very well indeed.
The final character to focus on is Ursla The Sea Witch and this version is absolutely fascinating. She is showy, intelligent and clearly not quite human. Through interludes and legends we see this worlds gods and magic go back eons and Ursla’s own bargains have left her in a tricky position. She is compelling whenever she appears on the page and is very much keeping us on our toes as to her own agenda. Magical bargains always contain a price and this one when revealed is a powerful and surprising reveal indeed.
We have a tale of intrigue, action, kingdoms falling and rising and throw in monsters and spells for good measure. Lewis has created a hugely accomplished debut novel that was a pleasure to immerse myself in and it’s one of the most interesting epic fantasies I’ve read in a while. I strongly recommend this to fantasy fans.
