The Witch Roads

This is my first book by Kate Elliot but it will certainly not be my last, and not just because this one ends on a cliffhanger. The writing, world building, magic system, and characters were all spectacular

Elen is a courier for the intendant of a region in a vast and complex empire. She helps keep outlying villages in touch with each other but most importantly she keeps an eye out for signs of Spore, the horrifying fungus that will take over a living being and turn it into something monstrous. She is This is my first book by Kate Elliot but it will certainly not be my last, and not just because this one ends on a cliffhanger. The writing, world building, magic system, characters were all spectacular

I thought this was going to be a fun show more fantasy adventure road trip type story and in some ways it is, but it is also so much more. She is very good at what she does. When a high ranking prince unexpectedly arrives in town needing passage to the North, Elen is the best choice for a guide.

I thought this was going to be a fun fantasy adventure road trip type story and in some ways it is, but it is also so much more. It deals with many serious issues, the legacy of assault, generational trauma, transphobia, and handles them all deftly. It is well balanced with humor and magic and beauty

It is also a story about love, of all kinds, and what we will do for the ones we love, and what we do when they are gone.

I admit I do not like when a book ends on a cliffhanger, but this one was so good that I think I can forgive it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review show less

THE WITCH ROADS was and excellent fantasy with great worldbuilding. Elen is a Deputy Courier who walks her circuit delivering messages and watching for spores. She is lower class in a society where one's social class is defined and immutable. On the trip that begins this story, she is walking with her nephew Kem who is just seventeen and is coming up on the day when he has to declare his life career.

As a treat, Elen takes Kem a bit off the path to look at some ancient spires. Their origins are lost in the mists of history. Since they arrive on a full moon, they have a chance that they might see the haunts that legends say inhabit The Spires. And Elen does...

A being who has inhabited one of the guarding statues for a very long time show more appears and asks Elen to let him take over her body so that he can accomplish a vital mission. If not hers, he'd willingly take over Kem's body. Elen refuses for both of them and the pair move on toward home.

But there is a prince of the Third Estate who comes traveling with his entourage who also has a mission. Earthquakes having covered the witch road just past Elen's home village, the prince is in need of a guide around the break and Elen is chosen. Kem is along too because he has declared to become a Warden which is a career path open to him only when he learns that he is the illegitimate son of a lord. This discovery causes friction between Elen and Kem because Elen was keeping his heritage a secret from him.

The story takes a turn when the haunt who met Elen at The Spires takes over the prince's body. Both the prince and the haunt have their own reasons for heading to the end of the world. There are adventures and villains along the way in this richly imagined fantasy. Safe paths along the witch roads keep travelers safe from the Pall that covers parts of the world like a man-eating fog and spores that turn living flesh into monsters are only a few of the perils. There is also political intrigue as princes jockey for position and allies to become the next emperor. And there are secret missions.

Fans of fantasy with engaging characters and complex worldbuilding will enjoy this story. show less

The Witch Roads was a pleasant surprise, and I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it was slow at times. Yes, there were some issues with character development and plot. But honestly, not of that mattered as it was compulsively readable and I couldn't put it down. There was just something about the characters and the story that I found fascinating, and to be honest, it reminded of some of the old school fantasies I read a long time ago. In fact, once I finished I went diving into my shelves and pulled out my Steven Brust, David Gemmell, and Anne McCaffrey books because it gave me a yearning to read those again.

To be fair, Kate Elliott has always been a hit or miss author for me so I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. And I am show more having a hard time articulating exactly why I was so invested in this book. The plot moves along rather slowly, revealed through the characters actions and dialogues, something I really enjoyed as I am not a fan of just being shown or told what is happening, but prefer to figure things out through action and dialogue. There are definitely big secrets and big things going on, only some of which was revealed in this book and I was drawn to the mystery for sure. And when there are ancient civilizations beings mentioned of which the current population has little knowledge, I am drawn into the story as I wonder how this will play into the story and what delicious mysteries will be revealed. When I finished the book and looked back to what I learned, I realized how masterfully I was played and how much skill it takes to write the story in such a way to reveal a lot of information without you really knowing it, if that make sense. It's honestly like peeling back layers of an onion and revealing layer by layer, only we are not yet at the middle of the onion.

The story is told through Elen's eyes, the main character, and although she develops quite nicely as a character, there is still so much to her we don't know as the story progresses. She is plucky, is a survivor, is deeply loyal to those in her circle, and has knowledge about the world that is beyond what someone who does what she does should have. She is an enigma for sure. But I can't help but enjoy her development and her storyline. The secondary characters are fascinating as well, and I certainly enjoyed Elen's interactions with them as that is how we learn what is going as well as the big secrets.

So, why the deep dive into Anne McCaffrey's books after finishing this one? The land is slowly being destroyed by something called Spore and The Witch Roads were created by powerful beings to help protect future citizens from these dangerous spores. This is mentioned right at the beginning of the book so I am not giving away any information from the story. The whole empire is developed around protecting the empire and the people and it's very rigidly controlled with imperial factions and everything you would think of in such a world. There are ancient ruins, discussions about old civilizations, talk about different types of peoples, all of which creates a mystery that just draws you in. All of which reminds me of the Dragonriders of Pern, so there we are.

Verdict
The Witch Roads was an enthralling read and I enjoyed it immensely. Yes, there were some issues with plot development and at times, it could be slow. I also felt like there was a barrier to getting to know Elen and while I empathized with her situation, I didn't feel like I really knew her all that well. That being said though, there was something about this story that caught my attention and I couldn't put it down. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel when it releases in November. show less

This is a fantasy quest story, well, the first half of a story, with a twist—we don't know the goal of either quest, and there are two. Elen and her nephew Kem, caught in a desperate situation, fling themselves into an Imperial Prince's northbound mission. For Kem it is a chance he never thought he'd get to be a warden, but for Elen it is a departure from her often solitary, straightforward courier duties to being very much a low-ranking member of a very stratified group.
Elen's knowledge of the local features is not at first sought, which has some long-lasting consequences, one of which is that the leader of the expedition does regard her information.
Plotting, violence, significant body count, past trauma, and family squabbles show more abound, all while the party advances as quickly as possible over a perilous landscape. show less

In a dangerous world full of spores that can very quickly take over and kill any life, Elen has carved out a life as a lowly courier. But when an arrogant prince arrives at her outpost and then a vicious enemy from her past follows, her secrets—and her nephew—are at risk. It was an intriguing setup; warning for lots of sexual assault as a background threat.

When I first picked this up, I blipped over the author's names and thought it was a sequel to The Witch King by Martha Wells. It's not, of course. But it is just as good, just as original, just as engaging. It is the first half of a duology, so it ends in the middle, just as new revelations are unearthed. I am eagerly awaiting the second half.