Shy South lives a quiet life on a frontier farm until raiders burn her home and kidnap her younger siblings. Determined to retrieve them, she sets out across the lawless plains of the Near Country accompanied by her cowardly stepfather, Lamb, a man hiding a violent history under a submissive facade. Their path crosses with a diverse cast, including the disgraced mercenary Nicomo Cosca and an idealistic lawyer named Temple. The narrative follows a massive wagon train moving through territory controlled by hostile Ghost clans and competing gold miners, eventually leading to a confrontation over stolen children and old debts.
Readers of gritty fiction substitute traditional high fantasy tropes for the harsh reality of a western setting translated into a secondary world. People read this book for its cynical dialogue and the subversion of the classic hero archetype, seeing instead how past sins dictate future choices. The reader finishes the story with a clear view of how progress and industry inevitably erase the lawless independence of the wild, leaving little room for men of violence once their utility expires.
Practical, outward-looking, clear-cut and escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2012
- Language
- EN
