Hello Fellow Journeyers,
It's been some time again since my last post of a book but I was finally able to start and finish one that was quite incredible. This next book we will look into is a collection of four stories in Seasons of Albadone. While I usually avoid short story collections, the Witcher series proved that they can be done well and since this was a fairly short book, I decided to make a go at it.
What's the story about: Seasons of Albadone is an anthology collection that tells four distinct tales during the seasons of a year. The first is of a young witch who must help someone in need. The second is about a drunken father who must deal with the consequences of his life and help his daughter. The third is about a man struggling with a loss in his past and tries to come to terms with it while helping bring the world into a new age. And the last one is about a young mother whose life is thrown into chaos and it becomes a race against time to save her ailing daughter. While they are different stories, they are connected in some major and minor ways.
To state from the beginning, this short story collection is truly one story involving four separate points of view, with the main character being the land of Albadone. The stories are contained within the forest and involves people within one town attached to the forest. Many characters dip in and out of other stories but they are all intertwined and deeply connected to the point that the first story affects all of the ones after and even leads to an all-encompassing end in the final tale. I originally planned to write a mini review of each of the stories included but since it ends in a pretty effective finale for all four, I'm deciding to review it truly as one story, and wow is it a story! For being less than 200 pages, co-authors and spouses Elan Marche and Christopher Warman have managed to make a heartrending group of tales that are as emotionally impactful as they are brutal. Starting out, these stories really reminded me of Grimms' fairy tales or fables possessing a moral lesson to learn but as the story took shape, it was really more of a book about individual struggle and the unfortunate consequences. Which is handled exceptionally well!
For being the first in a series, the worldbuilding is expertly and intentionally implemented to be secondary to the characters in terms of importance. The characters' actions, who they are, and what they want take center stage first and foremost and this allows for the emotional connection to be made quickly and deeply in each story. While each story's plot is simple and easy, the twists and actions taken are what keep it interesting. I never knew how each story would progress and end up and the authors handle the balance of tension and progression perfectly, filling each page with purpose, movement, and drama that makes the short story format feel no less than a full length novel. While these stories did not provide enough time to deeply invest in each of the main characters for long, none of them needed more pages to care about their plights and motivations. I have not read any short stories that truly have me rooting and caring about the characters' desires more than in this book. Even in the Witcher series, all of the short stories centered around one character, always deepening your connection to his exploits and growth; this truly had four different main characters. I can't think about it being anything but stunningly realized.
Now that we've discussed most aspects of the book overall, I want to give detail to the more specific aspects to the individual stories within. The first, Autumn: An Enchantress does two things very well: it sets the tone of the book (in a dramatic way) and world-builds enough to establish a solid foundation in which to move forward. The magic is simple but never boring, always understandable but not overused, so that it's always dynamic when it's present. Next up is Winter: A Father, which does a good job pulling on the heart strings and is a straightforward tragedy. It's well-told and emotionally impactful. The third story, Spring: A Foreman was possibly the weakest of the four in terms of emotional impact but it definitely had a lot more action and things going on, so that's probably why. It's also in this story that I noticed my only real complaint for the book. This came from a disconnect between what I believed about the narrative and what took place. There were a few deviations between what seemed realistic and what had to occur because the plot had to happen. Finally, Summer: A Mother is truly the climactic story that should end the book. Everything that happens behind the scenes comes to a head in this story and it reads with gravitas, warmth, and heartbreaking doom. I think the way this book was structured also points to another key aspect that made for such a good read. Each story had a place and purpose for where it was placed in the book and it made for a better, more satisfying conclusion.
★★★★✫ 4.5 Stars - Seasons of Albadone is a wonderful introduction to The Eighth Chant series and a great book by itself! Each of the stories is self-contained, but dramatically epic on an emotional and character level. What impressed me the most in reading this short book was how skillfully Marche and Warman utilized all the aspects of a finely woven tale. The progression is flawless, the focus is precise, and the intentionality comes out in every detail they included in each story; basically, this book is one that points to a much higher quality than a lot of content on Kindle Unlimited. I was thoroughly invested in the characters and their experiences and while there were some slight dalliances of disbelief, overall this is a nearly perfect read. I would highly recommend checking out Seasons of Albadone and I'm very excited for the sequel, A Contract in Sol Forne!
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book and found nothing wrong with it; it is Essential Reading at its very best!
★★★★✫ 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing. This is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very worth reading and satisfying; highly recommend.
★★★✫ 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain crucial areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★✫ 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★✫ 1.5 Stars: I finished it, but it was a chore to get through.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.