Nobody's Way
by shibuyaloren
Foreign Thorn: Book 1
For eight centuries, the people of Isla have wanted for nothing. The Creator, Maere, uses Her power not only to keep them healthy and fed, but also to map the direction of each person's future Path - their vocation, role in society, and even the partner they'll spend their life with. In a world where infighting once threatened the very survival of humankind, the old texts say that Maere personally stepped in to help guide Her creations to harmony.
All is not well among the people of the northern lands, however, as Jian discovers when she receives her own long-awaited Path. The Creator has chosen to favour some towns, but not others, leading to anarchy and unrest in the east, and fierce distrust between the neighbours who enjoy Her protection and those who don't. After many nights of disturbing premonitions, visions of a face uncannily familiar to her, and a voice beckoning her to "Homeland," Jian decides she needs to find answers for herself. She hires Madrigal, a surly young traveller hailing from an "unblessed" village, to take her to the southern lands. The swordsman is on the run from something, or someone, but Jian has no choice but to trust him.
When the two leave the safety of the familiar and meet Quinn, a mysterious boy who seems to know more about Jian than she does about herself, it becomes clear that there are forces besides the old magics, forces completely unknown to the people of Isla, in play.
Madrigal and Jian aren't sure if Quinn can be trusted, but they're certain he knows more than he's letting on...
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Excellent Coming of Age in Literal Theocracy
Reviewed at: Maere's Hand
This is a very nicely executed story.
Jian, a teenage girl from a small village, undergoes a very late pathfinding, a process whereby the local goddess shows her favored people their future path in life. Besides the usual anxieties of being a teen, the pathfinding is very odd and, at with no similar precedent, she hires a wandering swordsman to accompany her south to the seat of power of the goddess.
The story is an excellent exercise in the value of free will (free choice?) and equitable (or inequitable) treatment of your lessers (in this case, the goddess' lessers). That mostly occurs in character interactions, which are wonderfully done, while the plot itself seems to revolve around the mystery of Jian's pathfinding and the journey south.
The worldbuilding is wonderful and the individual characters are gorgeous (I particularly like Gil). The plot so far is uncomplicated, but that's appreciated as the worldbuilding petals continue to unfurl.
One aspect that is a little odd (and doesn't come up until late) is
That the ratio of women to men is 4 to 1. There's an interesting exploration of how that would affect a society. But, I feel a bit ambivalent about it. It comes up surprisingly late in the story. And, frankly, something like that is usually a sign that it's a harem story. This one isn't, obviously, but it's still a bit unsettling and it means that a rather significant portion of the writing is dedicated to romances or, rather, relationships between men and women (and not abstractly, but more specifically, like "will protagonist be in a relationship with so and so?"). But it's not tagged romance, so I suspect it'll fade away. I don't know.
Also, I'm a little surprised about some of the tags on this story. No idea how those tags come into play yet and I'm concerned they may be spoiler-y if they are meant to be part of a big reveal near the end of book 1.
A great build up
Reviewed at: Gillele's Longing
So far, I have read through the available chapters, and there is a feeling like a folk tale in the world-building. The mood and setting feel like a lot of effort to create a feeling of a dreamlike emersion. "Could it all have been her imagination?" The story feels like it is painted with watercolour like soft strokes and I am excited to see what follows next.