This is the third installment of the Song of the Sleepers, Josh's exceptionally unique epic fantasy world, and it does not disappoint. I'm lucky enough to count myself on his ARC team, which means I get to read this early (sorry not sorry), and I'm so happy I did.
Like the previous novella, we don't have much time to get into the story and get back out again, but—also like the previous novella—that's not a problem. Josh has expertly worked a story of loss, grief, growth, and vengeance into so short a page count.
But wait, I keep doing this, where I don't actually explain a bit about the story before giving my thoughts, so let me go back a ways.
Our story diverges from An Exile of Water & Gold (Book 1), and acts as an alternate entry point into the series. In this entry point, we fall Jilo, heir to the Sai-Kathan clan (I hope I'm spelling that right), a tribe of people that live along the great river flowing throughout much of wester Q'ara. And again, as I keep saying, I LOVE dual timeline stories, and we have another one here.
In the present, we have Jilo's quest to retrieve Ka'Del, and in the past, we learn about how he loses it. If I had to pick a favorite story, I would say the past one is the one for me, but the present is also fantastic, so it's a hard choice.
The river floods, tearing apart Jilo's village and loosing the spear into the wilds. Lost, without friend or family, Jilo wanders until he eventually finds the spear. And then his father. Together, they live with the Hidden Ones for a time. But a thief in the night (The Priests of Dirt from Therador) raid them, stealing Ka'Del for seemingly no reason.
Flash forward to the present, we've got Jilo with some Hidden Ones fighting to get the spear back, against an unknown foe. And man, the reveal was something else. Gripped with pain, confusion, and an uncertainty of the future, Jilo must decide to forgive the person responsible for the theft of the spear, his family heirloom, or destroy it forever. Which will he choose? Well read the book and find out, duh!!
So much happens in this novella. Loss, grief, coming to terms with the harsh truths of life and death and betrayal. Its maneuvered expertly by Joshua, who once again works wonders with his storytelling. I myself would not want to be in this position, but could feel the heartstrings being tugged with every line, so I'll take that as a good consolation.
Picking right up where Josh leaves us in An Exile of Water & Gold, we again have a unique story, with a unique cast of characters fighting an unseen enemy who is more than meets the eye. I cannot recommend this, and Josh's other works, enough. Seriously, go read them!
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