I haven’t spent much time in the realm of high fantasy lately, mostly because it’s just so hard to find one that’s not at least a little cliched. Evie Manieri’s Blood’s Pride, the first book in a series (of course), is very original. There’s no long journeying, no prophesying, and certainly now stew. Instead, Manieri takes us into a whirlwind world with photophobic warriors, telekinetic children, mysterious mercenaries, and fire-wielding desert nomads.
The story is told in turns by almost a half dozen narrators and it takes a while to get your feet in all the plot. And since most of the characters are concealing their motives, it takes a lot of mental effort to work out why the characters behave the way they do–especially that mysterious mercenary, Mieran. In quick succession, we learn that about twenty years before the book opens, those photophobic warriors, the Norlanders, invaded the Shadar in search of a rare metal that can be used to create amazing swords. They enslave the populace and their ruthless practices have lead the Shadari to organize a rebellion.
But instead of being content with a story of a people reclaiming their freedom, Manieri includes two subplots involving star-crossed lovers and a third subplot involving a power mad Norlander with access to too many weapons.
I have to be honest. In spite of all the creative effort that went into this book, it’s a muddle, organization-wise. It is really hard to get your feet. I didn’t feel like I had a grip on it until after page 100. And by the end, I still had my doubts about whether I really understood what the author was up to in this book. As the start of a series, I knew that the ending would be a bit unsatisfying, because it needed to set things up for the next book.