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.
In a few words: deeply imaginative, inventive and amazingly fun BUT just a tad bit messy. When I sat down to write this review I realized that I had something of a jumble of thoughts, and I think that rather reflects upon the book itself – it’s kind of a jumble of really cool ideas.
My conflicted feelings start with Csorwe herself as a main character. To be frank, she is not especially compelling for a large portion of the book because she is so entirely passive, stolid and gullible. She really only sees herself as a tool for Sethennai for most of the story, and it would have been really interesting to see her think about this in any kind of meaningful way as she changes or have the narrative examine the dynamics of his manipulative bond but The Unspoken Name never really goes there. Given her upraising as a tribute destined for sacrifice it does make perfect sense that she is so willing to find someone to guide her and stick with them no matter what, but it’s also true that the result does not make for a particularly interesting character.
When Csorwe does start to think more independently and make decisions on her own, it’s largely because of her growing feelings for a woman named Shuthmili. I’d be okay with this if I actually bought the bond that developed between the two of them, but I just can’t help but feel that Larkwood didn’t really do the legwork necessary for me to believe in this relationship. I don’t buy that Csorwe chooses Shuthmili over the Reliquary after knowing her for about a week and being indoctrinated by Sethennai for years, just as I don’t buy that Shuthmili agrees to leave the Qarsazhi with Csorwe, abandoning her duty after her own lifetime of indoctrination. It’s not so much that I believe these character beats are inherently impossible, but I just didn’t buy them based on the way the relationship had been written so far.
There were also a few plot holes that are worth mentioning – for example, how in the world do the Qarsazhi know how to get to the Lignite Spite? Oranna knows because of her connection to her god and Csorwe gets a map to guide her but the Qarsazhi just show up to this secret forgotten world with absolutely no explanation. There are a few occasions like this where things just kind of Happen because the plot needs them to even though it doesn’t really make any sense.
I feel like I’ve been complaining a lot so far, so let me circle back to what I said in the beginning: this book is just really, really inventive. It’s jam-packed with amazing world-building with forgotten ancient worlds and mad gods and an interdimensional maze with ships to pass through it. A particular strength is that each section of the book has a different sort of “set piece,” and I ended up loving all of them. I’ll admit that the constant barrage of strangeness can get a little disorienting but I’m pretty good at just letting cool worldbuilding wash over me, and that’s what I did here.
I was consistently intrigued and engaged – the action was well-written, the worlds and magic were fascinating and you know what? It was just plain fun! The book is also extremely funny in parts, largely because of the dynamic between Csorwe and Tal, an elf who also works for Sethennai and is Frankly Insufferable:
“Look, we have to stay together,” she said.
“Wow, gross,” said Tal.
He’s just an absolute asshole but in the most endearing, entertaining way possible. I had so much fun reading about him and he’s easily made the list of Charlotte’s Favorite Characters in 2020. I’m dearly hoping that the rivalry between the two of them eventually becomes a friendship because goodness knows the both of them could use a friend!
So that’s the verdict on The Unspoken Name. I had a blast reading it and I’m really looking forward to the sequel, but I’m also hoping Larkwood can tighten up some of her writing and make sure that the emotional work with the characters comes through the way it needs to.
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