Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Tor Books (2020), 464 pages
Description
"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 honored title: sacrifice. On the day of her foretold death, however, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Csorwe leaves her home, her destiny, and her god to become the wizard's loyal sword-hand -- stealing, spying, and killing to help him reclaim his seat of power in the homeland from which he was exiled. But Csorwe and the wizard will soon learn - gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member tottman
The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood tells the story of Csorwe, a young orc priestess groomed as an oracle to her god and fated to be wedded (ie sacrificed) to that god. As she prepares to meet her fate, the wizard Belthandros Sethennai intervenes and offers her a choice: go to your god and die or
Csorwe helps Sethennai to regain the throne that was stolen from him. Along the way, Csorwe meets and assists a young mage Shuthmili. As Csorwe develops feelings for Shuthmili she finds her loyalties tested.
Larkwood creates an interesting universe that feels partly magic and partly science. The first part of the book meanders a little bit as Csorwe is both trained and educated. As she matures and learns to know herself a little better, the story becomes deeper and more nuanced. This is not a typical fantasy with good fighting against evil. It is a story with more complicated and personal motivations including those of entire societies and gods.
Larkwood does a good job of wringing out your emotions with the trials through which she puts her characters through physically and emotionally. Some of the passages will we'll leave you feeling drained afterward.
Part of the intensity of the book is due to the skills of narrator Avita Jay. Not only does Jay expertly juggle a significant cast of characters but her voice also captures the changes undergone by Csorwe both as she grows from a young girl into a woman and as her maturity and worldview changes. Jay's skill helps navigate a story where characters are not always black and white and alliances are ever-shifting. Her work with this book is worthy of award consideration.
The Unspoken Name is a promising start to a new series. I highly recommend the audio version.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
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come with me and live. Csorwe leaves with the wizard and trains to be his assassin and all-around right hand or is he terms it "his blunt instrument."Csorwe helps Sethennai to regain the throne that was stolen from him. Along the way, Csorwe meets and assists a young mage Shuthmili. As Csorwe develops feelings for Shuthmili she finds her loyalties tested.
Larkwood creates an interesting universe that feels partly magic and partly science. The first part of the book meanders a little bit as Csorwe is both trained and educated. As she matures and learns to know herself a little better, the story becomes deeper and more nuanced. This is not a typical fantasy with good fighting against evil. It is a story with more complicated and personal motivations including those of entire societies and gods.
Larkwood does a good job of wringing out your emotions with the trials through which she puts her characters through physically and emotionally. Some of the passages will we'll leave you feeling drained afterward.
Part of the intensity of the book is due to the skills of narrator Avita Jay. Not only does Jay expertly juggle a significant cast of characters but her voice also captures the changes undergone by Csorwe both as she grows from a young girl into a woman and as her maturity and worldview changes. Jay's skill helps navigate a story where characters are not always black and white and alliances are ever-shifting. Her work with this book is worthy of award consideration.
The Unspoken Name is a promising start to a new series. I highly recommend the audio version.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Great new voice on the fantasy scene, I'm looking forward to the further instalments. Written in several parts with a significant jump of several years between them, it all hangs together very well and works as a cohesive whole - despite the occasional jumping to other characters.
The setting is
Our story starts with a young girl Circwe somewhat orcish in appearance, and Bride of the Unspoken god - a willing sacrifice. She's asked to perform a prophecy for a visitor, and describes a Reliquary. A little later her appointed date is due and she ascends to the god's cave. She is somewhat astonished to find her visitor there, who whisks her away, the sacrilege of no concern to him. Bel - somewhat elven in appearance - teaches her to be his assistant, and bodyguard while he attempts to regain both his trinket and command of a city. the city comes first. But the gods lurk in the background, and circwe remains at a disadvantage being forsworn of her god. Eventually she has to decide for herself what things are worth fighting for and what might be worth dying for.
I enjoyed this quite a lot it's fast aced which always helps, and while the segments are more like four novellas stitched together, there's enough continuity to keep it working. The world-building is clever and the use of the gates allows intermingling and trade, but also pertinent differences. I initially thought I would need the map from the 1st pages (always fiddly with an ebook) but actually the geography is irrelevant. Some of the character jumping gets a little tricky, but a few intially minor characters grow into importance later on and justify their inclusion. I always like books where there is rational behind the required limitations on magic, and although it's not quite clear why i's so variable, it works well to provide both opportunity and difficulties - I also enjoyed that the opposition had believable motivations and character of their own - something that not enough authors care about.
Looking forward to the sequels. The ending is all complete, the characters have made peace with their decisions, but a couple of minor points were left open for the next books.
The setting is
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never fully explained, but enough is detailed to give a suitable overview. Sometime in the distant past there were several races/religions living together worshiping their own gods. A cataclysm of some form occured that may have been a gods war, and the world was rent asunder into pieces about the size of nations more or less, joined together by Gates. Passage through the gates isn't immediately perilous, but uncomfortable Maze sections exist where the world is thinning. The races have blended together somewhat but distinctions remain, and the gods are still separate, and require a mages inborn talent, and a sacrifice of some vitality, so they are parsimonious with their use.Our story starts with a young girl Circwe somewhat orcish in appearance, and Bride of the Unspoken god - a willing sacrifice. She's asked to perform a prophecy for a visitor, and describes a Reliquary. A little later her appointed date is due and she ascends to the god's cave. She is somewhat astonished to find her visitor there, who whisks her away, the sacrilege of no concern to him. Bel - somewhat elven in appearance - teaches her to be his assistant, and bodyguard while he attempts to regain both his trinket and command of a city. the city comes first. But the gods lurk in the background, and circwe remains at a disadvantage being forsworn of her god. Eventually she has to decide for herself what things are worth fighting for and what might be worth dying for.
I enjoyed this quite a lot it's fast aced which always helps, and while the segments are more like four novellas stitched together, there's enough continuity to keep it working. The world-building is clever and the use of the gates allows intermingling and trade, but also pertinent differences. I initially thought I would need the map from the 1st pages (always fiddly with an ebook) but actually the geography is irrelevant. Some of the character jumping gets a little tricky, but a few intially minor characters grow into importance later on and justify their inclusion. I always like books where there is rational behind the required limitations on magic, and although it's not quite clear why i's so variable, it works well to provide both opportunity and difficulties - I also enjoyed that the opposition had believable motivations and character of their own - something that not enough authors care about.
Looking forward to the sequels. The ending is all complete, the characters have made peace with their decisions, but a couple of minor points were left open for the next books.
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LibraryThing member sennebec
Fascinating, intriguing characters, bloody, plenty of twists, but what really stands out to me is the world building. I read about a lot of worlds I can fall into and sound like they'd be interesting to visit, but this one is where I want to go and spend eons simply exploring all the places beyond
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the maze gates. Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
Most fantasies I have read lately don't float my boat when compared to the classics (Thrones, Rings) but this one has prospects.It is a richly imagined novel with both a unique plot and characters. The lead race have tusks! The thrust of the novel is the search for a relic that contains all
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knowledge and it has been lost for years. There is a race by competing groups to find it with many detours along the way. This is a good one! Show Less
LibraryThing member elenaj
Not having read the back matter sufficiently thoroughly, I spent the first 50 or so pages thinking Csorwe was some kind of elephant. Evidently she's an orc. (I'm still not sure about the other races in this book. Elves or bunny rabbits? Dwarves, goblins, or some kind of otter? I need fan art,
Other than my failure to properly imagine what anyone looks like, A .
Warnings for assorted violence, gore, mutilation and human sacrifice. (Orc sacrifice? No one calls themself an orc in the book . . .)
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friends.)Other than my failure to properly imagine what anyone looks like, A .
Warnings for assorted violence, gore, mutilation and human sacrifice. (Orc sacrifice? No one calls themself an orc in the book . . .)
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LibraryThing member JenniferElizabeth2
I really liked Csorwe and the world-building, but found the ending irritating.
LibraryThing member rivkat
Very engaging fantasy with a lot going on. Csorwe was raised to be the mouthpiece and then sacrifice for/to a goddess; when a strange sorceror convinces her to run away instead, she learns to be his enforcer. Uncertainties, betrayals, and conflicts across multiple worlds—some of them dying or
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already dead—follow. Csorwe does not necessarily do the right thing, but she does care for something more than her own survival, even as her loyalties change (she falls for a sorceress who is destined for a personality-destroying merger with others due to her restrictive religion). I liked it! Show Less
LibraryThing member whatsmacksaid
Everything about this book is magnificent and perfect. The worldbuilding is incredible, the writing is good, the plot is tight, and I was pleasantly surprised over and over while reading.
LibraryThing member eyes.2c
An Orc maiden, the gods and magic!
Firstly let me say what a fascinating cover! It quite drew me in to this story with Orcs, magicians, portals and strange lands. And let's not forget those gods who always have other plans! A new fantasy saga. What more could I want?
Csorwe is our Orc maiden who
That aside, when Csorwe choose the path to Life presented to her by the mage Belthandros Sethennai, her world opens up in unexpected ways. I was struck by Sethennai's comment to Csorwe as they left the Unspoken One's Shrine. "The secret of greatness is to know when you should risk the wrath of god.”
It seems this is a path that Sethennai has oft contemplated. Mind you I wouldn't trust Sethennai but then Csorwe has little choice.
Csorwe will train to be Sethennai's sword arm, his right hand Orc person. She has his back. I must admit that Csorwe's unquestioning gratefulness to Sethennai palls a tad. But then what else does she know given her upbringing, her path as the Chosen Bride sacrifice, in the House of Silence priory? She always followed the proscribed path--until now!
Sethennai is determined to return to the city of Tlaanthothe and the powers of his patron, to defeat his enemy Olthaaros. To assist him he seeks a lost reliquary. One with drawback so we are told, “The Reliquary of Pentravesse is said to mark its passage through the world, in the sense that a scythe marks its passage through the grass.” A most uncomforting description!
The beginning chapters had Csorwe finding her feet, as was I, a follower of her journey. I found I wasn't as engaged as I'd hoped. I'd wander off to do something else, like eat whilst muttering 'that name'! It wasn't until later in the book that I found the more compelling elements developing. That's when I became fully engaged. Oh, and I'm still having problems with pronouncing Csorwe's name! It's just not happening!
A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley
Firstly let me say what a fascinating cover! It quite drew me in to this story with Orcs, magicians, portals and strange lands. And let's not forget those gods who always have other plans! A new fantasy saga. What more could I want?
Csorwe is our Orc maiden who
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knows her future. She is to be the Sacrifice to the Unspoken God. (Ok folks! I had a lot of trouble speaking Csorwe's name. The first part 'Cs', pronounced like the 'ks' in books had me stumped. I never did get the hang of it!)That aside, when Csorwe choose the path to Life presented to her by the mage Belthandros Sethennai, her world opens up in unexpected ways. I was struck by Sethennai's comment to Csorwe as they left the Unspoken One's Shrine. "The secret of greatness is to know when you should risk the wrath of god.”
It seems this is a path that Sethennai has oft contemplated. Mind you I wouldn't trust Sethennai but then Csorwe has little choice.
Csorwe will train to be Sethennai's sword arm, his right hand Orc person. She has his back. I must admit that Csorwe's unquestioning gratefulness to Sethennai palls a tad. But then what else does she know given her upbringing, her path as the Chosen Bride sacrifice, in the House of Silence priory? She always followed the proscribed path--until now!
Sethennai is determined to return to the city of Tlaanthothe and the powers of his patron, to defeat his enemy Olthaaros. To assist him he seeks a lost reliquary. One with drawback so we are told, “The Reliquary of Pentravesse is said to mark its passage through the world, in the sense that a scythe marks its passage through the grass.” A most uncomforting description!
The beginning chapters had Csorwe finding her feet, as was I, a follower of her journey. I found I wasn't as engaged as I'd hoped. I'd wander off to do something else, like eat whilst muttering 'that name'! It wasn't until later in the book that I found the more compelling elements developing. That's when I became fully engaged. Oh, and I'm still having problems with pronouncing Csorwe's name! It's just not happening!
A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley
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LibraryThing member allison_s
Already in the running for my favorite/best books of 2020!
LibraryThing member brakketh
Enjoyably built world with an orc central character and a costly magic system.
LibraryThing member Sunyidean
A really intriguing epic sapphic fantasy. The pacing accelerates in the second half, as does the scope and the stakes. That surprised me in a good way.
Tal, though a dick, was my favorite character.
Tal, though a dick, was my favorite character.
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
This book is structured in four separate interlinked stories, and on my first attempt this failed me -- because the start of the second was so different from the previous, with different viewpoint characters, and a time skip, and I struggled to get invested. Particularly, because the first part is
I have lots of scattered thoughts, and they are spoilery, so I'm going to restrict myself to some general comments and leave this as a short review. The world-building is fantastic. The multiple worlds, the travel mechanism, the gods, the magic and technology, all deftly sketched and fitted in to the story seamlessly. The characters are amazingly detailed and complex individuals. The main viewpoint character, Csorwe, is morally grey and yet it was entirely understandable how they get from their childhood expectations to their adult self. The plot is intricate, and strongly adheres to the approach I have previously seen attributed to Lois McMaster Bujold of 'if in doubt, make things worse' (said approach attributed to Emily Tesh in the acknowledgements). And the writing is lush.
Having finished it, I'm now reaching for book 2, and very much looking forward to finding out what else happens. I'm presuming that the safe life that several of the characters have gone off to find won't be, or that those characters won't appear in further instalments. And I imagine that there are some worlds-changing events to come, given a) the implications of some events in this book and b) the synopsis of the second.
content warnings for torture, murder, accidental death, earthquake.
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so self-contained. I have lots of scattered thoughts, and they are spoilery, so I'm going to restrict myself to some general comments and leave this as a short review. The world-building is fantastic. The multiple worlds, the travel mechanism, the gods, the magic and technology, all deftly sketched and fitted in to the story seamlessly. The characters are amazingly detailed and complex individuals. The main viewpoint character, Csorwe, is morally grey and yet it was entirely understandable how they get from their childhood expectations to their adult self. The plot is intricate, and strongly adheres to the approach I have previously seen attributed to Lois McMaster Bujold of 'if in doubt, make things worse' (said approach attributed to Emily Tesh in the acknowledgements). And the writing is lush.
Having finished it, I'm now reaching for book 2, and very much looking forward to finding out what else happens. I'm presuming that the safe life that several of the characters have gone off to find won't be, or that those characters won't appear in further instalments. And I imagine that there are some worlds-changing events to come, given a) the implications of some events in this book and b) the synopsis of the second.
content warnings for torture, murder, accidental death, earthquake.
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LibraryThing member electrascaife
A young acolyte, who was chosen at an even younger age to be a ritual 'bride' sacrifice to her god, gets saved by a wizard-like dude and becomes his servant/intern/apprentice. He tells her he wants to regain the right to return home after his enemy banished him, and he's also looking for a
Meh. I had trouble paying attention to this one. It just wasn't...exciting enough? I didn't love the characters I was supposed to love, and I didn't love to hate the ones I was supposed to love to hate. I just got annoyed at them instead. So, *shrug.*
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particular relic and thinks she can help with both goals, but he's not exactly who he says he is, and she finds herself making a choice between helping him and saving a girl she meets on her quest for the relic.Meh. I had trouble paying attention to this one. It just wasn't...exciting enough? I didn't love the characters I was supposed to love, and I didn't love to hate the ones I was supposed to love to hate. I just got annoyed at them instead. So, *shrug.*
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LibraryThing member admiralfinnegan
A fairly middling, by the book fantasy. I enjoyed the main character and her love interest. The writing style was passable and the plot nothing to write home about.
LibraryThing member MiserableFlower
Honestly I’m seriously frustrated with this one. I want to power through anyways but ultimately had to be it on my DNF. I got a 1/3 of the way through the book with one point of view… now at nearly at the 1/2 mark there is a suddenly more point of view changes that starting characters. -_- The
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world is massive and there is so much detail that we just aren’t getting. Terms are thrown around and used liberally…. But are never explained. It’s like reading a book that hasn’t been translated thoroughly enough. I would have had no idea this was basically orcs vs elves, with a side of humans, if I hadn’t gone and looked it up or already partially knew from the synopsis. Magic and travel and the world hopping isn’t explained. Characters are brought in and are automatically treated as import without any build up or explanations of who they are or what there role or status is. It’s just glazed over and I find that distracting. Not to mention the blatant manipulation by the big bad, and how he treated everyone, that I knew I didn’t have it in me to make to you the end of the book. The overall plot is adult…. The character driven plot id middle school at best. The whole telling is just dry and sad. It completely tanked my interest and at 54% I’m stopping going further because I don’t have it in me to listen to another 8 1/2 hrs. Show Less
LibraryThing member xevooy
Well written but too long-winded.
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
It's a pity. I think this had real potential. The world is interesting, and the characters could have been engaging. I just think it lacked depth. I feel I could almost have been invested, but the events were told as if moving chess pieces on a board, setting things up to get through the storyline,
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instead of immersing you in it and making you care. And I really think it was close. It was nearly great. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2020-02-11
Physical description
464 p.; 9.6 inches
ISBN
1250238900 / 9781250238900