Sojourn

Season of the Runer, Book II

By: Abigail Linhardt

Narrated by: Aaron Smith

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

“There may be no ghosts or ghouls here, but there are monsters. It’s our job to stop them".

Fleeing Al’Myrah, Tzarik sails with Sybal as far away from Sharar as they can. Landing on the far Eastern continent of Xia, they discover there are no Runers on Xia, and a civil war is heating up between the traditionalists and those who believe it is time for Xia to join the ways of the modern world.

A mysterious creed called Wushito culls the monsters without runes or the white blood. Revered or feared, Wushito exists to support the ruler of Xia - the one touched by the White Dragon. But with Runers ashore, their secrets may soon be brought to light and the traditions on which Xia is built will be tipped into chaos.

Put in the middle, Tzarik and Sybal set events into motion they must see through to the end or risk unleashing a malevolent force into the world. However, a shadow from the past appears amidst their new struggle, complicating their sojourn and quest for sanctuary.

©2021 Abigail Linhardt (P)2021 Abigail Linhardt

Good characters and great story

Definitely a breath of fresh air. Not only because of the mountain setting but because we have characters that struggle and don't succeed at everything they do. This is something that happens very little these days and it's lovely to see characters change and become better because they fail. The story is interesting and makes it very hard to stop listening. I do miss some characters from the first book but looking forward to hopefully seeing them again in the third!

An Eastern Seasoned Runer

We find ourselves once again following the adventures of Tzarik and Sybal, this time taking a trip to the East Asia inspired mountain continent Xia. Our protagonists are out of their element in Xia. The culture, language, customs, and monsters are all unfamiliar to them, leaving them in a bit of a pickle when it comes to doing their primary job. Thankfully they run across some helpful (and some unhelpful) locals that get them a place to stay and show them the basics of Xian society. They find themselves embroiled in a plot to overthrow the kingdom led by a mysterious group of ninja-like monster hunters. Things do not go as planned. For anyone.

The book is pretty good and is breath of fresh air. There are a few problems with the pacing and characters, but the setting and worldbuilding help hold it up until things even out, which they eventually do. Its a good read for anyone looking for a different, somewhat darker, look on typical fantasy that still feels familiar enough to not be too alien. It is a shorter read and could have been a little longer, but the shorter length makes it less of an investment should you not like it.

This series is still heavily inspired by the Witcher, but this time borrows from many Asian cultures. Many themes, such as duty, responsibility, collectivism, and honor are present throughout. Our protagonists bicker back and forth about staying out of the whole situation and having a duty to help the innocent, which helps develop their characters. The antagonist sadly is not very complex and while he gets plenty of page-space, he is rarely interesting, especially when stacked against his own henchmen and the series villain Sharar. Sharar has a much larger roll to play this time around, but not much is divulged about his true scheme.

Like with the first adventure in our Witcher-like series, the plot and characters are less interesting than the world they inhabit. Xia is an interesting place, a mountain growing out of the ocean that has literal tiers of society steep in tradition and mysticism. The mysterious magics and lore are only vaguely explained and hinted at, leaving me wishing for more. The whole setting is intriguing and I want the author to take more time to develop the world.

Our main characters, Tzarik and Sybal, are in a strange spot. They have no real purpose driving them beyond fleeing Sharar, who catches up with them anyway. Tzarik is so far out of his element that he can't put up a good fight and constantly complains about everything and loses every fight he partakes in. Sybal is brash as always and gets herself stuck in the middle of the brewing civil war on Xia. Tzarik eventually gets a much-needed monkey kick to the backside that forces him into a badass state of focus, and Sybal gets herself into a very bad spot. Sybal has only a little growth, while Tzarik gets a nice boost towards the end.

The primary villains are an elite group of warriors, similar to shinobi that seek to enforce their way of life and beliefs upon the whole continent. The main antagonist is not particularly interesting, but his two henchmen more than make up for it and are probably the most fun of the new charters. One in particular is written to be very hate-able and its great. There are a few new side characters as well, however most of them are not that interesting to read about (apart from a certain monk). All of the side characters and villains are well written and play their roles well.

The plot follows a brewing civil war between the ruling class and the shinobi warrior class. There is not a lot to say about the overall plot. It is not particularly intriguing and actually has little bearing on our main characters. Tzarik and Sybal could leave at any time, or disentangle themselves from it but Sybal keeps pulling them back into the fray, which helps keep things going until it can become personal for our protagonists. The plot feels mostly like a sidestory in the overall plot of the series and mostly serves as a vehicle to set things up for the rest of books to come. Many elements are set up here that seem like they will be payed off later on. It's not bad by any means, but it does feel like a bit of detour rather than a full on sequel.

The adventure is still fun and entertaining. Tzarik's character development takes its sweet time in getting there but once it does, things get really good and there is much catharsis to be had. The pacing and writing style still has room for improvement. The book needed a few thousand more words to better flesh out some ideas, motives, and moments. Some events and scenes still happened at whiplash speed with things not quite making sense and characters bouncing around all over the map. It somewhat left me confused at times, but not nearly as much as the first book. Overall it is still a fun and exciting time set in an interesting world following a slow-burn character and his brash sidekick. The lore and world is still the most interesting feature and I hope it will be explored in more depth as the series continues.

And on a side note, the performance is great. His young girl voice is kinda goofy, though, but given the narrator has a deep voice I can't really hold it against him.

SPOILERS AHEAD
I cannot get into the cons of the book without going into spoilers, so there is the warning.

Tzarik is annoying for the majority of the book. He gets into a surprising amount of combat and manages to lose horribly every time. He complains about everything all the time and constantly tells Sybal not to get involved in the ways of Xia. It grew on my nerves to the point of not wanting to spend page-time with him.

Sadly, Sybal does get involved, which ultimately leads to her capture, torture, and sacrificial "death" at the hands of Sharar and the snake henchmen. This, combined with the death of a prince and princess, finally push Tzarik past his stubborn streak and allows him to brutally butcher the cast of villains, finally winning several fights in spectacular fashion. Sharar gets away with Sybal's comatose body for his own mysterious purposes.

There is also a romance brewing between Sybal and Tzarik which I did not buy. Sybal is still somewhat an idealist and is not as pessimistic as Tzarik. She lets her heart lead her, even if it leads to her attempting to break her oath to the Runes. She is brash, impulsive, and wears her heart on her sleeve. They had little chemistry, mostly that of master and pupil. Tzarik's constant nagging of Sybal did not help either.

Tzarik's growth is good overall and eventually has a great payoff, but took way too long for such a short book and got old fast. That being said, it was still good growth and the last section of the book would have been less cathartic if Tzarik hadn't been such a wet blanket the whole time. He is left in a good position for the next book.
END OF SPOILERS