Hi Cara,
I was one of the lucky bloggers that got an ARC copy of this highly anticipated debut novel. The book in question is The Unspoken name by A.K Larkwood. This is the first book in The Serpent Gate.
The Unspoken Name is published in the US on the 11th February 2020, and the UK on the 20th February 2020.
What if you knew how and when you will die?
Csorwe does — she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honoured title: sacrifice.
But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin—the wizard’s loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power.
But Csorwe will soon learn – gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.
The Unspoken Name is a master class in story and world-building. At the beginning of the book I thought was going in one direction, but that was only one strand of this epic story.
Fantasy is the main genre of the story but is has splashes of science fiction. I enjoyed the mix, as each world is different and magically but connecting via gates that allows people to fly to each other worlds.
An element of the story that I found interesting was the religious aspect. Especially where the magical abilities are concerned. It’s interesting that people have no problem having people use magic to benefit them but want to keep it under lock and key.
The Unspoken Name has a sprinkling of romance, a handful of action, a pinch of rivalry. A giant helping of mystery and a dollop of magic to top it off.
The leading kady of The Unspoken name is Csorwe. She has spent her life being moulded for different purposes. In the beginning, I felt protective and sorry for her. I am proud of the sorry for her. I am proud of the strong woman she becomes and glad that she started to find her own Identity.
Ther are some same-sex relationships in The Unspoken Name I like the fact that there no attention drawn to the character gender. But who the character is, is more important.
An element at the end took me by surprise with an information bomb was dropped. This makes me more interested to see what happens in the next book.
The only reason that The Unspoken name didn’t get 5 stars from me is the writing style was harder for me to read. It is beautifully written it just took me a little longer to find my reading flow.
My rating for The Unspoken Name is 4.8 out of 5.
Thank you Tor Books, @JamiesdoesPR and @Mybookishlife for sending me a copy of The Unspoken Name for a fair and honest review.
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Thanks for reading,
