The Unspoken Name by A K Larkwood (The Serpent Gates: Book 1)

The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood is one of the most imaginative, thrilling, and masterfully written epic fantasy books I’ve ever read. It’s an immersive experience that snagged my interest right away and continued to grow at a startling rate until I found myself being whisked through beautiful worlds, meeting wonderful characters, and caught in a narrative that had me enthralled. Larkwood possesses a remarkable ability for enhancing the best elements of what makes fantasy wonderful by adding her own touch of turmoil and wonder. In a nutshell, it was a spectacular start that I won’t soon forget.

I won’t give much away about the story or criticise the author, but I will talk on what is mentioned in the summary. Young Csorwe, a grey-tusked adolescent who was created solely for the purpose of being sacrificed to a hidden god once he reached a specific age, is the main character when the story first begins. (Side note: Although Csorwe has characteristics with the traditional interpretation of an orc, the term “orc” is never mentioned in the novel, thus calling her one may be limiting in how you view who she is.) A man named Belthandros Sethennai (only one of the many fantastic names in this novel) offers to save Csorwe’s life and carry her away to serve in his service moments before she is sacrificed. Sethennai has his own objectives; he must return to the place he was exiled from and learn the truth about an improbable myth. The book’s story has only just begun, despite the fact that these plot points alone seem substantial enough to cover the pages.

“You have looked your foretold death in the face and turned from it in defiance. Nothing in this world or any other deserves your fear.”

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The Unspoken Name is a story of sacrifice and retribution, exile and abandonment, devotion, and real love, among other things. The plot has a science-fiction element thanks to the vast cosmos that connects to other worlds via a realm called the Echo Maze that airships can travel through. There are countless gateways known as Gates that allow passenger ships to travel between various worlds on the trans-dimensional plane known as the Echo Maze. The employment of these Gates has caused interesting interactions between different magic-using nations, races, cities, and faiths, and Larkwood deftly incorporates the consequences into the plot of Csorwe’s tale.

How selectively the author described some of the larger concepts, like the ships, the specifics of the Gates, and the Echo Maze itself, was one of the many, many facets of the novel that stood out. The reader is informed about how things worked, but the rest is frequently left to our imaginations, which is a choice I really liked. This book has so much plot crammed into it that I thought adding more information would detract from the reader’s enjoyment and slow down the already frantic pace of the book.

The speed of events is astonishing. Plot points that I had anticipated lingering for the whole of the book were resolved well before the halfway point. Your heart will experience a range of feelings as you read this book, which felt like it had several endings. The story’s central character, Csorwe, was still present, but we spent a lot of time, sometimes for only a few pages and other times for a little while, inside the thoughts of the supporting characters. Before switching to another POV, there was always just enough time to grasp the intentions, plans, and emotional consequences of actions of other characters. Additionally, Larkwood excelled in allowing us to see important events through the eyes of several characters when many of the characters were inevitably brought together. The situations had more emotional impact as a result, and the characters felt more nuanced. The storylines had a good sense of proportion, and the emotional stakes never felt unfair.

The ideal surprise is The Unspoken Name. Although I knew nothing about it, I chose an advance copy because of the intriguing premise and fantastically enigmatic cover. One of my better choices of the year was this one, in the end. The story is heartfelt and hits all the right notes. Any fantasy reader would be wise to place this book at the top of their reading list. Don’t pass it up.