(High Fantasy) Shina books passage to another island on Captain Tazir's fishing boat without mentioning that she's caught up in the war between the powerful "Windspeakers" and the invading Dragon Ships. (25,900 words; Time: 1h:26m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
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"The Drowning Eyes," by Emily Foster [bio] (edited by Carl Engle-Laird), published on January 12, 2016 by Tor.com.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: Interesting twist that the windspeakers have to give up their eyes in order to master their craft. The story is certainly complete, in that it starts with Shina's mission and ends with it accomplished.
Con: The basic plot is simple and uncomplicated. A few points are a bit confusing, such as the fact that Shina keeps saying she's the last windspeaker, even though she meets others in the course of the story. Perhaps she's the last one from her island, but in that case we're left wondering why they didn't give this job to a more senior person.
The side story with Tazir, Chaqual, and Kodin is rather weak. Once Shina's mission is complete, it's not clear why we should care what happens to the captain.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Emily Foster Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Con: The basic plot is simple and uncomplicated. A few points are a bit confusing, such as the fact that Shina keeps saying she's the last windspeaker, even though she meets others in the course of the story. Perhaps she's the last one from her island, but in that case we're left wondering why they didn't give this job to a more senior person.
The side story with Tazir, Chaqual, and Kodin is rather weak. Once Shina's mission is complete, it's not clear why we should care what happens to the captain.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Emily Foster Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
Disappointed in this one. Enjoyable setting, fun characters, and interesting magic. But before anything is really developed, everything is abruptly wrapped up.
ReplyDeleteI think this twitter page (found via isfdb.org) might be a better link for the author:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/fosteroftheweek
The facebook page was only briefly active in 2014 to promote a romance novel.
Thanks! We'll update it.
DeleteHere's an interesting article from Emily Foster.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tor.com/2016/03/15/the-monster-in-the-mirror-on-horror-disability-and-loving-both-at-once/