Driftwood

In this first novel set in award-winning author Marie Brennan's incomparable Driftwood fantasy universe, enter a post-apocalyptic realm where the apocalypse has not ended, where fragments of worlds cohere into shifting myths. Yet even as everything fades, Drifters gather to tell conflicting legends of Last, the guide - the one man who seemed immortal but may have been a fraud.

Who is Last?

Fame is rare in Driftwood - it's hard to get famous if you don't stick around long enough for people to know you. But many know the guide Last, a one-blooded survivor who has seen his world end many lifetimes ago. For Driftwood is a strange place of slow apocalypses, where continents eventually crumble into mere neighborhoods, pulled inexorably toward the center in the Crush. Cultures clash, countries fall, and everything eventually disintegrates.

Within the Shreds, a rumor goes around that Last has died. Drifters come together to commemorate him. But who really was Last? Lying liar or heroic savior? A mercenary, a charlatan, a legend? A man, an immortal - perhaps even a god?

©2020 Marie Brennan (P)2020 Tantor

Haunting. Timely?

I could not listen all at once because the main character's cynicism(?) hurt my heart. Is it just this year, 2021, that has cast the shadow? Still, as always, Brennan's worlds stimulates the imagination. So. I am not sure what I think; this book is a rich dish with contrasting flavors-some almost too strong for my immediate liking. I will ruminate over what I have ingested and give 4 stars because I will likely wish for more.