The Orb of Cairado (The Chronicles of Osreth) Five years ago, Ulcetha Zhorvena was happily living as a scholar second class in the prosperous city of Cairado. After being falsely accused of stealing a priceless artifact, he lost everything. Now, he works for a thief, creating falsified records so his boss can sell questionable goods. When a dead friend's mysterious bequest puts Ulcetha on the trail of the artifact that ruined his life, he has a chance to recover both it and the life he once had. But taking back his place in society comes with a price, and Ulcetha must decide if he's willing to pay it. The Orb of Cairado is a companion novella to Katherine Addison's beloved novel, The Goblin Emperor, and while it is not necessary to have read that one to understand the world of The Orb of Cairado, it does help if only to have a better understanding of the constructed language Addison uses to describe the features of her world. That being said, I would recommend reading The Goblin Emperor anyway, as it is a wonderful book. But that’s neither here nor there. The Orb of Cairado is a complete story on its own, though it mirrors a primary element of its predecessor: the protagonist is, at his core, a good person. Morally gray characters have become such a major part of fantasy media that it can be difficult to find good-hearted characters. Perhaps it's to do with overall news and cultural trends that have pushed grimdark fantasy stories on us for the past couple of decades, but I, for one, have grown weary of relentlessly dark narratives, or stories that are edgy for the sake of edginess. I want more stories where the good guy wins by being good, not by falling to the level of his opponent. That is what we get in The Orb of Cairado. From start to finish, Ulcetha Zhorvena is a good person dealing with a series of misfortunes inflicted on him by people who use their power and privilege for ignoble ends, yet he doesn’t allow it all to make him bitter. When he has the chance to lash out, he doesn’t take it. Sure, that’s partly because it would quickly come back to bite him, but if his circumstances were different, he would still do the right thing, and as a reader, I applaud this. The inherent goodness of the lead characters in Addison’s Goblin Emperor books is a refreshing change from what’s ordinarily pushed in the fantasy genre. Addison’s skill as a writer doesn’t hurt, either. Whether she’s describing a street scene, clothing, or a dessert, Addison’s prose is elegant but succinct. There are no overwrought descriptions of eye color, unlikely scents, or overstretched metaphors. There is just good, clean prose that tells the story without getting in its own way. I do have some quibbles with this novella, however, with most of them having to do with the pacing- especially toward the end. Events happen a little too quickly at the end, and certain plot threads are tied off a little too quickly. Given that the story is around 120 pages, Addison had plenty of space to extend scenes by a few paragraphs to round everything out a little more; and many fans of this world– myself included– would be happy to read more full-length novels set in it, so Addison need not worry about wearing the audience out. Given that my usual gripe about a book is that it needs to be shorter, saying “I wish it had been longer” is not much of a complaint. Addison has another novella in this world coming out in about a month (The Tomb of Dragons), and I am very much hoping that it will not be the last we see of the place. The Goblin Emperor opened a window to an amazing world full of fascinating people, and The Orb of Cairado is a solid entry in it. If we see more adventures of Ulcetha Zhorvena, I will be thrilled to see them and be the first in line to read them. — Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for giving me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion. Traveling in Books is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Traveling in Books that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments.
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Sunday, 2 February 2025
A Few Good Elves
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