By Quentin Monasterial
Courier Staff Columnist/Reporter
Susan Dennard opens up 2016 with her new novel, Truthwtich, a fantastic introduction to a new series.
The novel takes place on the continent of another world (hence, it being of the high fantasy genre) ruled by three empires: the Cartorran Empire, the Dalmotti Empire, and the Marstoki Empire.
At the time of the novel, the twenty year truce is coming to an end, and, when Safi, one of the main characters, is summoned to attend the gathering through which the truce is hoped to be renewed, a chain of events is set in motion.
This world is home to magic, or what is referred to as Witchery in the story. Unlike most stories regarding magic, there is zero correlation between the gender of a magic-user and the title that they are given; everyone with magical ability is a witch. Dennard classifies each of them with a title compounded of “witch” and a noun relating to the area of magic that they specialize in (i.e. Truthwitch, a witch who can discern truth from deception).
The story revolves around two young women, Safi and Iseult, a Truthwtich and Threadwitch, respectively, who are connected by one of the most potent bonds in the world of this story–one of the bonds that comprises what Dennard refers to as a Threadfamily–making them Threadsisters to one another. The reader is flung–quite literally–into the world of Safi and Iseult as we join them in their escape from all three empires as well as their predetermined, congenital fates.
Along the way, they find unexpected companionship. There are even some budding romances. To me greatest pleasure, however, Dennard doesn’t use the romance to drive the plot or define the characters.
Of course, they also encounter seat-gripping adversary and conflict. However, the strength to persevere that they derive from each other is a spectacle deserving of as much adoration as the mind-bogglingly engaging and interactive action scenes that Dennard choreographed. This makes for a perfect blend of drama and action.
The world that Susan Dennard constructs is one I’d very much like to visit, one deserving of as much respect as Hogwarts and the classic Middle-Earth. It’s been awhile since I’ve encountered a story world of this caliber. It is purely brilliant in all of its aspects and holds so much potential and possibilities, amplified by the fact that Dennard only touched upon the lore surrounding this world; I can’t wait for what Dennard has in store.
The big setback of this story is the storytelling, which is why it went from a potential five stars to a three and a half. Don’t get me wrong, the story, the characters, the ideas–all of it is great. But the content isn’t the only key element to a great overall story.
Dennard thrusts us into their world (as I mentioned earlier), which, to some degree, is very effective in hooking a reader’s attention. But the way that Dennard does is ineffective and wholly
confusing. So confusing that it actually had the opposite effect of what I just described: immersing myself into the story was difficult. Dennard was throwing around terms and narrating (it was in third-person) as if I knew all of the terminology and aspects that differentiate their world from ours. Up until I was twenty-five percent into the novel, I was utterly perplexed as to what was going on, making the beginning more of a hassle than a hook.
Also, the storytelling was missing something, and if it weren’t for the inherently interesting content, the story would have been sluggish to the point that I probably would have given up. Although I’m having trouble putting my finger on it, there was something about the writing, the pacing, phrasing and execution of certain scenes that made it seem more rough than smooth; the writing was slightly disjointed.
Like most series, the writing of the author progressively improves with each book, so I’m hoping that the same will apply to Dennard. But all in all, it was a great story and holds vast potential. I can’t wait t
