Filled with all of the action, emotion, and lyrical writing that brought readers to Sky in the Deep, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with Fable, the first book in this new captivating duology.
Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.
As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.
But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.
This was my book club’s April book! We choose via genre and wanted something “adventure-y.” We had previously read Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jackie” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer, which I LOVED (hint, absolutely listen to the audiobooks) so I was itching for something in that realm.
Fable turned out to be quite the interesting pick! Our past couple reads have been plagued by info-dump-ism, with a whole slew of named characters introduced in the first few chapters (hi, Five Survive) or entire worlds described in paragraphs and paragraphs (that’s you, Daughter of the Moon Goddess). Those books were great in their own way, but it was refreshing to pick up something that dosed in smaller intervals.
Like a weary bird flying out over the most desolate sea, I finally had a place to land.
We have our main girl, Fable, and while she has named antagonists in the beginning (before entering the unknown, as we would say in the hero’s journey analysis), they are only important in the manner that they’re antagonists. During the meat of the book, we’re introduced to five more, but they’re all distinct and we’re given quite a bit of page time with them all.
Fable herself is a lovely main character. She’s driven by this pride/revenge combo: prove to her father that she’s ready to be a dredger on his crew, for real, rather than as his daughter.
To no one’s surprise, her father is terrible. In a this-is-a-ruthless-fantasy-world way, but also just in a toxic man way. I don’t feel this is a spoiler, tbh.
I’d crossed the Narrows for a man who’s probably never even loved me. For a dream that would never come true.
I did love the way that played out in Fable’s thoughts, actions, and decisions, however. There’s a thread here of recognizing your parents as people, and of found family, which I really enjoyed.
Another point for this book: very few and mild instances of utilizing violence against women as some kind of worldbuilding tactic. There are bits mentioned, but there’s nothing graphic either in explanation or in scene. I see in a lot of books, authors using sexual assault to somehow demonstrate how terrible and inhumane a fantasy world is. I find it to be unhelpful and frankly, harmful. More on that in a discussion post!
There is indeed a romance, but nothing too crazy that takes over the plot or serves as any kind of decision influence for Fable (or not moreso than any other factor) which was lovely. The romance itself is just okay. I could take it or leave it.
The primary issue in my ambivalence is just how little we get in-scene of Fable’s past, both on the island of Jeval, and living with her parents on the Lark. Having those scenes would really make the emotional impact of everything that comes after much more potent, but it only comes in snippets, typically as odd chapter inserts.
Home was a ship that was at the bottom of the sea, where my mother’s bones lay sleeping.
And thus leads me to my main complaint. The worldbuilding and timeline. Without the map in the beginning, the worldbuilding would be next to nonexistent. Which wouldn’t matter, except so much of the plot is based on trade and geography. The trade system is touched on quite a few times, but in vague terms and titles. The geography itself is briefly described, but is overall confusing.
So, it was good! But also, meh. I’m hoping the worldbuilding is addressed a bit more later in the series (there are three more books!).
Blue Eye Books 