By M.A Carrick
Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and author(s) for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I am going to start this review with the afterword. I am not a reader who is typically interested in the motivations or background of the author. It means nothing to me that the author’s third grade teacher taught them the glory of the story, or that their family was instrumental in supporting the author during their all night writing sessions. Most of the time knowing about the author is a bit of a disappointment because they are just like me, and I’m nothing special.
However, the afterword of The Eye of Leviathan is as compelling as the story itself, as the authors (M.A. Carrick are actually two authors, both with backgrounds in archaeology) take the time to explain some of the historical facts and linguistic rules they chose to tell their story. Interesting side characters turn out to have actual counterparts, documented in historical artifacts. They carefully chose whether Spanish names or places should be Anglicized or left as to the language that would have likely been parsed by the main character at the time. These details do not affect the storytelling but they are fascinating and show the effort and detail that the authors have put into this novel. So, when you get there, read the afterword.
The Eye of the Leviathan takes place in Spain as the 16th century rolls over into the 17th, This is a hugely significant time in Europe. The conquistadors are looting the Americas in the name of God, and the The inquisition has murdered or exiled the Sephardim, the infidels, the antipapists and is now corrupt and greedy and will take payments in cash to hide your indiscretions or find your neighbour’s sins. Lutherism is spreading in the north and the virgin Queen rules Britannia. The Dutch East India Company is building fortunes in Asia. Corsairs rule the Barbary Coast. The Ottoman empire looms in Constantinople. And now we add some ancient legends and magical islands full of Fae and mysterious beasts. The lore and world building in this book goes deep. I can easily read 500 pages in a day, but this book took me at least 3 days or more to read the same amount. It’s so dense but not an info dump. I wanted to be in this lush world full of history and lore and I could not rush through it, although I was never bored. There is just so much to take in. This also means that there are not a lot of explanations to the historical aspects so a general idea of the history of the time will help the reader navigate through the politics as presented. As a reader I was fascinated by the university culture of Salamanca, impeccably researched and presented by the experience of our lead characters. As a Lit student who studied a fair share of Shakespeare and early playwrites, a scene at a theatre in Velencia was like stepping into the Globe at the time. (the authors hint that we will see more of the Queen Elizabeth and (I hope) Shakespeare as the timing is auspicious.
But enough of the history of the book, what of the story? It is also rich in fantastical world building. It starts with a legend – there are two sources of magic in the world. The Behemoth on the land and the Leviathan in the sea. The Behemoth is killed by Hercules, or maybe Samson depending on which myth you believe. There is no more magic source on land. The Leviathan, his sister, is distraught and closes off the sea and it’s magic from the humans who murdered the Behemoth. The Great horns of the Behemoth remain in the sea as the only gateway to seas beyond where magic still thrives. Alexander the Great discovers how to cross through the horns, and later the Spaniards and others discover the route, so there is always a little magic, being traded here and there, and a few lingering fae, cut off from the sea but not killed by the death of Behemoth. Of course in the Age of conquest and discovery and imperialism, Spain has decided to conquer the islands of the sea beyond, to convert the heathens and take the magical treasure all in the name of God, because that’s just what they do.
And in this world is where we find our story beginning. A woman gives birth to her seventh daughter and her abusive husband is furious she has produced no sons. To save the life of her newborn, she makes a trade with the tree spirits and takes home a changeling in the shape of a boy. Her infant daughter is given to the fae for her safety to ensure the changeling”s safety, the fae who will be raised as her son wants to learn the ways of the humans in order to stop the destruction of the fae and their magic.
The entire book is the parallel lives of Estevan, living in the human world and The Hungry Girl, a mortal without a true name, living in the world of Leviathan and the seas beyond. They are twins separated and grow into young adulthood never fitting in, hiding their true self, feeling alone and isolated. Which isn’t to say that they don’t gain friends and even love interests. The two main characters are not set up as FMC and MMC as one might expect in a typical fantasy romance, with the ‘separation’ working towards a slow burn romance. Instead they each gather a found family to themselves as they work their way towards each other. Estevan’s journey is more linear where he goes to school and university to learn about cosmological navigation, while The Hungry Girl’s story is more like an Alice in Wonderland or Little Prince story, where this island is made of storms and that island is ruled by fairy lords that sing the language of birds and create songs that seduce and this island is full of creatures with mouths on their stomachs with a taste for human flesh and that island will curse you to turn into a Harpy.
The book is the first book of a series so is mostly concerned with the journey towards meeting each other. Of course when that happens its clear that there is more to do, and the characters will all work together to make it happen. There may be some readers disappointed that there doesn’t appear to be much of an emphasis on the romance aspect and may question if this is pure fantasy with romantic sublot. But I say, it doesn’t matter. there is a great love story in here which has impact on the main character and more to come, so if that’s important to you, then it does exist.
But if you love a well researched, deep dive into one of the most significant historical eras mixed in with myth, legend and fairy lore, this is going to be as excited for you to read as it was for me.
5/5 stars, no notes.
