Thumbs up for Storm Bride by J. S. Bangs. Fantasy.
A pregnant woman tries to survive; a blind seeress abandoned by her gods tries to save her adopted people; and a warlord tries to conquer them all. Storm Bride is a rare example of SF/F fiction in which it’s clear the author has made in-depth studies of cultures outside of Western Civ, and has drawn on that knowledge to build entirely new societies from the ground up. As someone who spent too many hours reading anthropology monographs as a teen, let me say I really, really appreciate the worldbuilding here. It’s a beautiful example of how to do it right. Also top-notch is the prose: it’s pitch-perfect, rhythmic, and better than the work of all but only a handful of other fantasy writers I can think of. Despite the fact that one of the main threads of the story dealt heavily with pregnancy and childbirth, which are high in my top ten list of “disliked story themes,” I was never tempted to put it down. I can’t believe this book was published by a small press—it should have been published by Tor or DAW. It’s not a flashy story—no wizard schools, no Greater Destinies, no fates-of-the-world-hanging-in-the-balance: so if that’s what you need, steer clear. But if you like fantasy worlds that are far more than medieval Europe with magical trappings, you should check this out.
[The horse] Lakhat chuffed. She seemed to smell the battle on him, in the lines of rouged and blackened grease drawn on his face, in the incense of sweat and blood that rose from his skin. Battle was an old friend to them. Keshlik would trust her to carry him alone into battle with a thousand foes, and she would drag his dead and broken body back to the yurts rather than flee without him. Only Juyut was a better companion in battle, though he spoiled it by being proud and wrathful and too quick with his tongue. The horse at least knew when to keep quiet.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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