Posts Tagged ‘science fantasy’

18
Jun

A Gripping Tale, Well Told

   Posted by: aman    in Other

Edith and I have exchanged our writings for a number of years and I have loved the drafts of her novels. Her character sketches are evocative, she weaves the plot well, the stories are well paced and ultimately satisfying.

Wind Over Troubled Waters, available in print and as an e-book,  is located at Corn World, Britland after a deluge. All that is left is Cerridwen’s dreams. From her dying mother she learns of the mural in Saint Eyes and sets out change Britland’s future. It is a dystopia story with an ending that uplifts the reader. It is structured like a Bildungsroman. The book even reads like a dream, both alluring and disturbing in parts. The drama is clear in the first chapter itself. The story moves on, sometimes at breathtaking pace.

It is a fascinating world the writers explore, shorn of knowledge and traditional security systems. Though the location of the story is scary, it is the text that holds up the reader’s confidence. The quality of the language is such that when tense moments come, the reader feels at sea but not adrift. This is where I feel it shows how the writers have assimilated the different registers of English by going to a deeper level – language as a sense of assurance. The language of WOTW takes the reader closer into the grip that the sure penned writers have on emotions and language.

I also liked it that though the story is set in a strange space, the drama is so human. WOTW is based on the kind of characters who shine through our classic texts. Its emotions play out in grand heroic ways. To me the quality of a good book, whether it be science fantasy or utopian/dystopian or even historical or literary fiction is that it is a big story, a universal story, a story in which the reader is awed by the happens and yet it appeals in an intimate manner.

Another aspect is how the writers explore what does it mean to be human. This is the ultimate quest of any art, to reflect us upon ourselves with the art being a medium of insight. Kudos! Edith and Francene, I am so glad you have reached the glorious heights of writing in your first joint venture fantasy novel.

For the book, click.

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