Published: February 2025
Pages: 118
Summary
On the day the river destroyed his people, Jilo took up his father’s spear. Years later, when the heirloom is taken from him, he vows to do anything to get it back.
The river is sick and putrid.
The magic is in the wrong hands.
The spear is the answer to it all.
My thoughts
This was a short novella that I really enjoyed. It is entirely character driven with the narrative following two timelines – the past and the present.
It’s a very emotional journey of a young boy grappling with the loss of his home, his family and people, and how that has driven him to the actions in the present day. My heart was aching for him as we see a glimpse of his past and the turmoil he finds himself in.
Bringing the story back to the present we can see how Jilo has changed. How his past has affected him and he has definitely hardened and grown through his experiences. We also get to see more of the Hidden Ones, these small woodland creatures which are really great at fighting with knives..
The writing is really well done and immersive. My heart was beating fast and I felt like I was right there with Jilo seeing what he was seeing. The relationship between Jilo and the Hidden Ones was magical and heartfelt in a variety of different ways. I enjoyed seeing them interact with each other and truly have one another’s back.
The pacing was a bit off for me, personally. At times it felt perfect but in the present day scenes it felt far too fast. But I also know I could read pages and pages of battle scenes so perhaps that’s a ‘me’ thing! It didn’t take anything away from the story, I just would have liked a bit more depth by slowing things down a little. Maybe this is a sign to take on this author’s novels which I’m sure I’m going to really like after reading this short novella.
Would I recommend?
Yes, I really enjoyed this novella. It may be a good idea to read the first book in the series first ‘An Exile of Water & Gold’. However it can be read as a short standalone (which is what I did) and I really enjoyed it. I’m moving the first book up my TBR because the writing was fantastic and I’m intrigued!