VOIDWALKER by S. A. Maclean (BOOK REVIEW)
It really is a pleasure to come across a romantasy that breathes new life into what may be a ‘by numbers’ genre.
Fantasy has so much scope in its world-building, and Voidwalker really plays with that – via some excellent, sassy and genuine characters, no less!
We follow the story of Fionamara (Fi), a ‘voidwalker’ who is able to travel between realms after a near-death experience. She uses these skills to become a virtually untrackable smuggler, helping her small village survive in a land where the humans are ruled by Daeyari – powerful vampire-like beings who demand sacrifice from those who live under them.Unfortunately, Fi becomes caught up in a plot between Daeyari, inadvertently kicking off a terrorist takeover of her homeland. It’s soon up to her and the former ruler to somehow take it back. Oh, and her ex-girlfriend is in the mix too, so that’s a snag.
This is a truly entertaining book. From the first moments, Fi is an immensely likeable heroine, who has been through a lot in her life but covers it well with sass and chutzpah. Her constant striving to fix past mistakes takes us through the story well, with clear motivation and a determination that many would struggle to raise. Quite often her situation seems impossible, but by working with those around she’s able to figure her way through, and by the end I was practically cheering her on.
Our Daeyari ‘enemy-to-lover’ Antal is also well-drawn, with his own motivations kept hidden until the right time for a careful reveal. Both characters are very real, grounded within the fantasy setting so the reader can relate to them easily, as we travel with them across realms to save their world.
The magic system itself is interesting and easy to understand, as it mixes what we know as science with a kind of blood/energy magic that works like electricity. It’s nice to have a fantasy heroine with lights and a gramophone in the house, as well as an affinity for jazz! I was reminded a little of Anne McCaffrey’s Between in the jumping through the void, but that’s no bad inspiration to work from and I was left intrigued about the wider universe if more books are to follow.
My only quibble is that the book does drag a little in the middle. The beginning is literally bombastic, the end a fantastic fight between heroes and monsters; the middle is where the character-building goes on, but it suffers a little from Two Towers syndrome – if this were a trilogy, it would be the slower-paced second book. Yes, it’s beautifully written and necessary to development, I appreciated the humour and spice… but the sense of urgency in the adventure drops off for a while, which was a little frustrating. Fortunately when it picks up, it goes the distance and certainly sticks the landing!
I’ve no doubt at all that romantasy fans will enjoy this greatly and I’ll be glad to see more of this world (and this author) in future.
Voidwalker is available now – you can order your copy from Bookshop.org
